The Avatar and the Fire Princess
by Loopy777
Summary: Marriage was often compared to being chained, but when Aang first met the woman who would be his wife, he was already bound with iron. -For the Azula Shipping Challenge 2017-
1. Playing with Fire

**Part 1 - Playing With Fire**

Marriage was often compared to being chained, but when Aang first met the woman who would be his wife, he was already in bound with iron.

She was preceded by an army of servants. The door to his cell was thrown open with a piercing scrape and the crimson-robed attendants flowed into the dark room like a blood tide. None spoke to him, or so much as looked him in the eyes; they went about their work with sureness and efficiency. Two of the servants brought lanterns hanging from tree-like stands that brought heating light into Aang's dank universe. More brought rolls of carpet that were opened to cover the stone floor that had leached so much heat from Aang's body. Several of them even worked together to gently lift Aang from his place in the center of the room- one servant for each of the heavy chains that bound his limbs to the floor- while another pair began cleaning him with smooth fabrics and warm rose-water.

It was like returning to life for Aang, returning to the feel of being human rather than an animal, and when they dried and set him down again, a plush rug was in place to sooth the ragged bare skin of his backside. They wrapped the rest of him in yellow robes, the soft material trapping his body heat luxuriously.

The finishing touches were a low table placed in front of him and a pair of steaming plates arranged on opposite sides. A single set of chopsticks lay between them like a weapon between two enemies. The warm steam rose to tickle Aang's nose with scents of rice and spiced vegetables, stirring memories in him that had been as insubstantial as dust before now.

In the midst of silent questions about his own sanity, the Princess of Fire strode into the cell and smiled at him. "Greetings, Avatar Aang."

She was the first woman he had seen since his capture. The last had been Katara, immaculate Katara, when she had just been starting to cough like her brother in the ruins of Taku. Aang had left with a promise that he would return to her with medicine, and he could only hope that she had died soon after in sick delirium rather than suffer like the rest of the world after his failure.

This woman was nothing like Katara, but she was beautiful nonetheless, a sword that moved like a flame. Yet she gave off no heat, and her voice was flint beneath the tone of silk.

Aang was the Avatar, and a proud Air Nomad, so he looked past her chill and said, "Hello. What's your name?"

"I am Princess Azula, sister to the Fire Lord." Her painted lips twisted. "Long may he live and rule."

"Are you joining me for dinner?"

"Of course." She kneeled across from him at the small table and picked up the chopsticks. "Your arms must be weary from your chains. Shall I feed you?"

"Thanks."

She lifted a sprout from his plate, and placed it precisely on his tongue. It was the first warm food he had eaten since coming to the Fire Nation, and the spices broke through years of rice gruel to nearly overwhelm him with pleasant burning. As he savored the taste and the memories, Azula's sharp voice rang out to keep him chained to reality. "You weren't surprised to hear that Zuko is now Fire Lord, and yet your guards are under orders to never speak in your presence."

Aang gave as much of a shrug as he could with his chains, and watched as Azula ate from her own plate with the same chopsticks. "Airbenders are good at listening."

"Indeed. Were you surprised at his rise to power?"

"Fire Lord Ozai wasn't an old man when I met him, and I'm still young now, I think. But things happen."

Azula nodded, and offered Aang a cashew from his plate. "Things happen. My brother left on a mysterious quest shortly after the war ended. He claimed he wanted to reacquaint himself with the Fire Nation, and traveled all the islands. It took him two years, but he came back with a family of peasants he claimed were his new servants. We have plenty of servants, of course, but something about this Noriko, Noren, and Kiyi were important to him." Azula's gaze sharpened, but the names meant nothing to Aang; he couldn't reward her clever probe. "A month after they all set up in a wing of the palace, our father was dead, and Zuko was crowned."

Aang swallowed his latest mouthful and waited for more food and information. Azula's voice was entrancing, smooth and song-like in its controlled cadence. The princess spoke like a performer, drawing out drama in subtle ways and giving excited heat to the coldest insinuations. Perhaps it was the lack of company over the years, but Aang felt that he could listen to Azula all day.

If it was day, outside, and not night.

Azula swallowed the last of her own food and wiped her mouth with a cloth before continuing. "I had fully intended to supplant my brother as heir, but he moved faster than I ever expected. They could never determine my father's cause of death, but the conclusion is logical, isn't it?" Her nostrils flared, and Aang had a brief glimpse of something hot and real in her golden eyes before the cool facade of perfection came back. "Now my brother wants to marry me off and be rid of me before I can make any trouble for him. The best I could do was bargain to choose my husband if I submitted willingly to Zuzu's order."

Then Azula smiled, leaned forward, and exhaled a breath so roasting that Aang could feel himself starting to sweat. "So, Avatar, will you marry me?" She reached out to caress his face, a mechanical motion that betrayed the calculations behind her eyes. Her fingers, against all expectations, were cold against Aang's face.

Was such chill an acceptable price for getting out of this cell? It wouldn't be an escape from imprisonment, because Azula wouldn't let him be free. He would simply be the enemy of her enemy, just as she would be for him. Would she turn out to be an enemy, too?

She could see his ambivalence, and withdrew her hand. "Be clear what I'm offering you. The war is over, and the Fire Nation rules all. Even the Avatar, with a Princess at his side, could not change that. But I can give you influence, and you can make trouble for my brother. Perhaps you could even outsmart me, and spin my gifts into weapons against the Fire Nation. Things happen, after all."

Aang smiled in mimicry of the taunting grins she had been flashing at him. "And what are you counting on? You're giving up a lot, if you could have married whoever you want. I'm not exactly a great catch, these days."

Azula looked away from him for the first time in the entire conversation, and Aang thought he saw some genuine warmth in her posture. The sword had become a true flame, for a moment. "It's not so much to give up. I've never been one for romance."

"I've never even kissed anyone."

"Me neither." Then the chill was back, and she sat up straight, turning her golden eyes back to scrutinize him. "So? Will you waste your first kiss on me for a chance to get revenge on the one who humbled you?"

"Not revenge. But I'll take the kiss anyway." Aang summoned all his strength, lifted the chains that had pinned his limbs to the floor for all these years, and managed to raise them off the floor just long enough to lean over and give Azula a quick peck on the lips before he fell back down to the ground. The thick rug the servants had laid down caught him easily.

Azula blinked.

"So," Aang said, "when's the wedding?"

Her eyes narrowed, and she gave a smirk that was almost warm. "Is tomorrow too soon?"

* * *

Tomorrow was not too soon.

It was a good thing Azula had already purchased a wedding gift.

The best part, though, was Zuzu's reaction. "You want to marry _who?!_ "

His voice echoed through the throne, bouncing off the black columns and wooden floor. The ministers and courtiers who had taken to lining the walls didn't make a sound, didn't so much as breath.

This was a family affair.

Azula dipped her head. "The Avatar, my lord brother. He has already agreed." She was still kneeling, the very picture of a compliant subject.

Up on the Burning Throne, Zuko rose to his feet. "So he's still alive?"

Azula put on just enough of a smile for her brother to see it from his perch. "I certainly hope so. His lips were warm enough."

Their observers tittered.

Zuzu's fists clenched, but he sat back down on the Throne. "I will not permit this. The Avatar is a prisoner, an enemy of our nation. You would bring a criminal into the Royal Family?"

Azula raised her head and blinked innocently. "Is he? I read your reports, my lord brother, and they are clear that the Avatar only acted against us after you attacked him. He was a child when you found him, by your own words. And now it has been four years since he was chained and locked away. Are we not strong enough to give him the chance to become our servant and ally?"

"He was in contact with Avatar Roku's spirit! We have no idea what's he capable of!"

Azula tilted her head. "Well, I certainly hope to find out soon."

More laughter. The witticism distracted from Zuko's point, and the ministers and courtiers all enjoyed imagining her as a bride. She knew she was beautiful, and of course she was young, so it had to be so much more compelling to imagine her with a lover than, say, harnessing the power of a monster to murder her brother.

Zuko, as ever, defaulted to stubbornness. "I will not allow this. Choose another husband."

Azula kowtowed. The floor of the throne room was cool against her forehead, despite the burning of the Throne itself. How odd. "My lord brother, please, do not sacrifice yourself this way for my sake!"

She didn't need to look to know that Zuzu was blinking in confusion. "Wh- sacrifice?"

"True, he is a lowborn Air Nomad, and might yet present a danger to my body, but he is my choice. Could the daughter of the Fire Lord who conquered the world settle for any less than the most powerful Bender alive? Please, do not go back on your word to let me choose my husband, just to protect me from my duty. You are the Fire Lord, our heart and our strength, and I could not stand to let you sully your word of honor for my sake."

Too much? Azula sometimes had a hard time telling.

She stayed in her kowtow and waited. She had used a lot of words, and Zuzu would need time to parse them all, especially after taking a moment to follow her shift in logic. But she had said 'honor,' and he was always a sucker for that one.

He liked people to _think_ he had honor, that is. The one compliment Azula could pay him was that he didn't let appearances get in the way of practicality.

That made this a risk gamble for her. She was being terribly transparent, and that might goad him into making the safe choice. It really was better to have his word lose some of its luster than to let her bring an enemy into his life, even in front of the court like this.

But Azula knew her brother. Her Zuzu.

She knew what he craved from her.

He needed to be better than her, to think himself her superior. And here she was, forehead on the floor, playing desperate games just for the chance to seize a weapon that might blow up in her own face.

He found probably this view of Azula more exciting than Mai, these days.

"Very well," Zuko intoned, "I will grant your plea. Tomorrow you will wed the Avatar, but because he is lowborn and a foreigner, there will be no ceremony. He may join you in your current suite, and if he proves a loyal ally, I might choose to Recognize your marriage at a later date. Sister, you are dismissed. Prepare yourself for your 'husband,' if you judge him worth the effort."

Azula rose, keeping her head bowed, and glanced out of the corner of her eye at the courtiers watching the whole display, people who had once sneered at Zuzu before he rose to power over them. "I shall put a little extra perfume in my bath water. Thank you, brother."

Chuckles followed her out of the room. Yes, laugh at the princess, at the sister teasing the brother. Enjoy how she thinks herself so clever for getting her way, when tomorrow she will tie herself to a long-forgotten, long-defeated enemy. Surely, this is the last gasp of the defeated sibling, a little lost girl who had been stumbling her way to an early grave since the day her Father passed. A desperate ploy of using jokes and rebellion to stay alive even as she winces her way into bed with a tattooed freak every night.

Azula smiled to herself as she emerged through the curtain into the hallway. She had pulled it off. No one had noticed how clever this move really was.

They were _right_ that it was her last, most desperate gamble. But she doubted that any of those ministers and courtiers had ever been trapped in the power of a kin-slayer.

As Azula headed back to her suite, she noticed someone watching from behind a statue of a dragon.

Her Inner Fire flared, but she didn't let any of the warmth seep its way through her body. She was outwardly cold as she turned to face the spy.

It was Noriko, the servant woman who Zuko had brought back from his tour of the Fire Nation.

Azula let some of her heat move into her fists. "What is it, servant?"

Noriko startled, but then stepped into full visibility and bowed. "My apologies for disturbing you, Princess. I merely wanted to congratulate you on your wedding. I wish you happiness."

Azula acknowledged that with a nod.

Then she hurried back to her suite, climbed into bed, and spent all night clutching the knife she had taken to keeping under her pillow. She didn't need it for protection; she was the greatest Firebender alive, and a match for any single assassin. But she liked this knife. She had stolen it from Zuzu, after he returned with the Avatar, and he never noticed. She liked to hold the solid weapon and meditate on the inscription on the blade: 'Never give up without a fight.'

She would _never_ give up. Not as long as she still drew breath.

No one came for her in the night. She knew because she didn't sleep, didn't even let her body relax until the sun rose on her wedding day.

She skipped breakfast. Poison would put quite the damper on such a joyous occasion.

* * *

When Aang woke up that morning, he had a moment where he was convinced that it had all been a dream. But then he registered the smooth silk and cushioning rug that cradled him into wakefulness, and sweetly scented lamps that covered the dank chill of the cell.

Azula was real. Her proposal was real.

Huh.

And yet, without her here, the artifice of her gifts was more visible. The rugs just looked silly on the moldy stone floor, and the lantern-trees stood out as too large for the size of the cell. Even the little dinner table, still sitting there right in front of him with a lone shred of cabbage left from the night before, was an ostentatious affection that was transparent in its purpose.

Was this what Katara had seen in Aang's little gifts to her, in his attempts to impress her with his tricks and adventures?

Aang wondered if he had matured, here in this cell, or simply lost his ability to see the beauty in life.

Well, he had recognized Azula as beautiful. That was something, at least.

The door of his cell squeaked open, revealing another group of servants- perhaps the same group from last night- who all bowed as they entered. The man in the lead said, "Avatar, we are here to prepare you to your wedding. Best wishes on this blessed day!"

Then the warden came in with a key in his hand.

Aang couldn't help but groan in relief when his chains finally fell away.

A wheeled chair was brought in, and the servants lifted Aang into it. They brought him out of his cell, through hallways that brightened as they passed until Aang could feel the air- _fresh_ air, for the first time in forever- moving around him. He almost cried when saw the first window.

He couldn't help but wonder, briefly, if he had gone mad in that cell. It hadn't just been the confinement, the filth, the sicknesses, or the solitude. It wasn't the weight of the chains on his arms.

It was the weight of his failures that truly threatened to crush him.

For the first week or a month or decade he hadn't been able to think about those failures- about first getting frozen for a hundred years while the world burned, and then falling for Zuko's masked-rescuer routine when he finally had a chance to restore peace.

But that first week or month of decade passed, and that's when the voices had come, along with the first questions about his sanity. The voices hadn't spoken in words but he took their meaning anyway, and the sounds weren't quite familiar but neither were they entirely strange. He eventually suspected that they were his past lives, speaking to him as best they could through the blockage of his self-pity. He also thought it possible that they were the ghosts of the people he failed to save, generous enough not to forsake him as long as there was still the smallest hope.

Either way, they had guided Aang on a journey inward. A journey of survival. And now survival was accepting the marriage proposal of Princess Azula of the Fire Nation.

The servants let Aang use an actual _bathroom_ in the prison, before leaving, and he thought it was the greatest luxury of his life. Then they wheeled his chair out of the building and into the sunlight, and he made himself think of what he would have to do today as he basked in the open air and golden shine.

The light stung his eyes, forcing him to look down at his lap and the gifted silk robe he was still wearing from last night, but he welcomed the warmth. It banished the lingering chill of the prison's stone walls.

Would he be wearing this robe for his wedding? He liked the yellow color. It reminded him of home.

Then he realized that he had never seen a Fire Nation wedding. Air Nomads didn't have them, but he had attended a few Earth Kingdom weddings, during his travels with Gyatso, and knew that the details could vary even between neighboring villages. He had snuck questions to Katara and Sokka, camouflaged by other queries about their home and culture, and so learned all about Southern Water Tribe weddings.

Hopefully, the Fire Nation didn't do a ceremonial consumption of meat.

That had worried him, whenever he had imagined marrying Katara. But Katara was gone now, hopefully dead.

Aang inhaled deeply as he was moved, wheeled chair and all, onto a palanquin. The redundancy made him laugh, but the servants carrying him didn't look up.

They kept their eyes down as they walked the path to a nearby volcano, and Aang began to understand their lack of humor when he saw that there was a city in the dead caldera. As they passed through the main gate and into a sedate thoroughfare, Aang leaned over towards one of the servants and asked, "What is the name of this place?"

"The full name is Royal Caldera City. Most simply call it the Caldera."

Well, that would be easy to remember.

The palace loomed large from the very center of the Caldera, but Aang paid more attention to the crowd gathered around its outer walls. There were people in armor and people in robes. Some were old and some were young. All began whispering as Aang's palanquin passed through their center, and all of them stared at him. Some had eyes that flared with hatred, and more than a few shied away in fear. Children laughed and pointed at his tattoos.

The palanquin was carried through a pair of massive doors that closed behind them to seal off the rest of the world.

As he was set down, a new group of servants came forward. "Avatar, the baths have been prepared for you. Allow us to bring you there."

Aang was starting to worry that he could get used to this kind of thing. "Sounds good!"

* * *

Azula stared at the choices that had been laid out on her bed.

On one side, robes of white and gold were spread, symbols of the death and rebirth a woman was expected to undergo. Nearly transparent veils would shield her face from her husband until he lifted them to remove all barriers between them.

On the other side of her bed was black armor, trimmed with gold to proclaim her royal station to all.

The armor had been made special for her, fitted to hold her with the familiarity of a lover, but she had never worn it into battle. The fighting was all over before her father could find a task for her.

Now she was fighting a war in which armor would do her no good.

So would she take up the guise of a bride?

Making her choice, Azula elected to forgo the help of any servants and began to undress.

* * *

Once he was bathed and oiled and wrapped in a new set of yellow robes, they brought Aang to his wife-to-be. He gripped the armrests of the wheeled chair as he laid eyes on her once again in her chambers.

The Princess Azula was a picture of strength in polished black armor, the only soft thing about her being the sheer white veil that hung from the flame-shaped crown in her topknot to cover her face. "Ah, my betrothed has arrived. I trust that you are still agreeable?" She came over, as the servants retreated, and kneeled beside his chair.

After a moment, she lifted up her hands and plopped them on top of Aang's.

Her skin was cold, and her veil as opaque as ice in the sunlight that poured in through the windows, hiding all but the shape of her nose and chin.

Aang made himself smile at the void. "Nothing has changed for me. But I don't suppose I could get a little something to eat, first? Maybe some tea? I never realized a warm bath and some grooming could be so tiring, but I haven't gotten much exercise lately."

Azula's hands twitched on top of his. "Clearly, I have much to teach you. Would you trust anything that came out of my brother's kitchens?"

"If I can't, then this is going to be a very difficult cohabitation."

Azula's head tilted just enough for him to make out the shadow of curving lips beneath the veil. "If my brother displays no need to prevent the wedding, then we will be safe enough after we're married. Unless we push him too far."

"Isn't that the point of this?" Aang moved his hands to capture hers. He felt her tense, but she made no move to pull away as he intertwined their fingers. He could feel his warmth being leeched away.

"Hm, yes. But I wouldn't want things to be spoiled before we've had the chance for some fun. We'll eat after the wedding, and _then_ see what we can do to get ourselves poisoned."

Aang laughed, even though he knew she wasn't really joking.

A guard stepped into the room. "Your highness, the magistrate as arrived. Shall I bring him up?"

Azula nodded, and there was almost a tone of regret in her whispering of, "This will be rather minimalist, I'm afraid. Zuzu refused to give us a proper ceremony, so we'll have to fulfill the legal obligations right here."

"That's fine. I'm just a simple monk." Azula's hands felt warmer now, or perhaps Aang's had just been made as cold as hers, so he let go of her. She stood up immediately and moved out of the direct sunlight, turning her veil transparent again. "But so that I'm not surprised, what kind of legal obligations are we talking about? Just to make sure there won't be anything to go against my vows."

Azula blinked down at him.

Her cheeks went red beneath the veil.

Aang realized what she thought he was asking, and his own face began to warm in a way that had nothing to do with sunlight. "I was thinking of how Water Tribe weddings have a special meal of meat. I'm a vegetarian."

Azula blinked again.

Then she laughed and strutted past him. "Don't worry, Avatar. I'd never do _anything_ to make you _uncomfortable._ " She tried to put an extra twitch of her hips at each emphasized word, but it was too precise to fluster Aang any further.

Then the guard returned, trailed by a man in the unmistakably tall hat of a Fire Nation official. "Your highness, this is the magistrate, but- uh, you have additional guests-"

And that's when Fire Lord Zuko stepped into the room, pulling a ghost of a woman at his side.

It was the first time Aang had seen him since he had been locked away, and despite wearing the robes and crown that had once adorned Ozai, it didn't seem as though the years had been kind to Zuko. He still had to be young, but lines etched a permanent glare on the unscarred side of his face, and he was thicker in a way that didn't seem to be muscle.

Zuko had not lost any of his intensity, though. Even beneath the robes and crown, even with the pale half-asleep woman at his side, his body was taut and he emanated an angry energy that teased Aang's love of pranks. Zuko still had a blazing fire within him, but Aang knew that such fires could burn their vessels out.

The older couple that followed the Fire Lord into the room seemed more normal, with their nervous smiles and plain clothes, and the teenage girl who brought up the rear- young and gawky and bouncing with a much cleaner kind of energy than Zuko- seemed like the type of person Aang would have once wanted to make into a friend.

When she first saw Aang, she grinned widely and waved at him.

He waved back.

Azula, meanwhile, was bowing. "My lord brother. Mai. You honor me with your presence and Recognition."

Zuko's voice turned out to be unchanged, despite the years. "I have come to observe. Not to Recognize. And of course Mai is one of your oldest friends. She should be at your wedding."

The woman at Zuko's side said nothing. Her eyes flicked to Azula, and then back down to the ground.

Aang was guessing that this Mai was no longer Azula's friend.

The princess didn't seem to care much. She motioned at the older couple and the teenager. "And them?"

"Witnesses," Zuko bit out. "Legal, unbiased witnesses."

The teenage girl bowed at the waist to Azula. "Hi, I'm Kiyi. You look very strong and beautiful."

Azula said nothing.

Kiyi's face flushed. "I- I wasn't sure if you knew my name."

Azula still said nothing.

Aang suppressed a groan. "Well, I'm Aang. _Pleased_ to see you again, Zuko. And it's wonderful to meet everyone else. Mai, Kiyi, and..."

The older couple nodded to him, and the woman said, "I am Noriko, and this is my husband Noren. We are servants to the Fire Lord. Kiyi is our daughter, and a Palace Maiden to Lady Mai."

It was then that Mai spoke for the first time. Her voice was low and harsh and lacking any life. "One big happy family."

Zuko startled at her words, but said nothing.

Then Noriko produced something golden from a sleeve. "I found this one day while cleaning the old rooms." She held it up in the sunlight, Aang recognized it as a crown similar to the ones in Azula's and Mai's hair. "It belonged to the Princess Ursa. I'm sure she'd be honored if her daughter wore it for the wedding."

Aang had never heard any mention of Zuko and Azula's mother. Ozai had always been a singular figure in what whispers echoed their way to his prison.

Through the gauzy barrier of the veil, Azula's face scrunched. "Why would I want to honor the woman?"

Noriko's shoulders had sagged, and she fumbled the crown back into her sleeve. "My apologies, princess."

Zuko yanked his arm free from Mai. "Don't speak ill of our mother, Azula."

Aang blinked. "But Azula didn't."

Azula nodded. "He's right. I'm not a child any more, Zuzu. I haven't thought about Princess Ursa since before your rise to the throne. I have neither ill will towards the woman nor a desire to involve her memory in this ceremony. Speaking of which, let's get on with it, shall we?"

Zuko's fists were clenched at his side, so Aang decided that his bride had the right idea. He put on his biggest smile. "Well, thank you all for coming to my wedding. Sorry to rush things, but being chained up for years hasn't left me with much stamina. Let's get started!"

Kiyi clapped.

* * *

Azula had already memorized the ceremony, so she had no need to listen to the magistrate's words. There was all the usual talk of fire and alliances and strength, all good wisdom but nothing Azula hadn't already internalized. It was a bit tedious, but the Fire Nation valued endurance, and anyone who couldn't get through a bit of drawn-out ceremony without being murdered by rivals had no business getting married.

Through it all, Zuzu remained standing off to the side with his little team of traitors and murderers. Azula heard him shifting from foot to foot throughout the ceremony, occasionally giving an exasperated sigh. It must have been a habit he had picked up from Mai. Yet Mai herself remained completely silent and limp; whenever Azula glanced at her old friend, she found Mai's eyes focused on nothing at all.

Was she remembering her own weddings? The first one to Minister Qin, and then her second to Zuko?

Or was Mai remembering her one week as a widow, after Qin's sudden and unexplained death?

It was the servant woman, Noriko, who seemed the most invested. She dabbed at tearful eyes and hung on every word of the ceremony. Azula wondered if the woman was drunk.

Still, none of it was able to take away from the moment of victory when the magistrate finally said, "Your highness, if you accept this man, Avatar Aang of the Air Nation, as a flame to burn with your own, if you would raise him to the level of Prince of the Fire Nation by bond, kneel before him."

Azula did so, looking through her veil at Aang. Their faces were even, with him still in his wheeled chair.

This was the only possible way Azula could ever imagine herself kneeling before a foreigner.

The magistrate turned the Aang. "Avatar Aang, if you accept this woman, Princess Azula of the Fire Nation and current Heir to the Flaming Throne, as a warmth to add to our own, raise her veil and look into her eyes."

The Avatar smiled as he did so.

Azula met his unobstructed gaze, because that was what the Pledging called for, but she focused her hearing on some sign that Zuko or one of his minions was about to attack.

The magistrate said, "And so I declare you husband and wife under the sun. Princess Azula, Prince Aang, please rise and greet the world as one."

Azula held out her hands, and Aang placed his in them. She supported his arms and practically lifted him out of his chair, taking his weight on her own as they stood and turned to their guests.

Azula looked to Zuko, first. He scowled at her, and then immediately turned and stomped out of the room, a perfect non-acknowledgement from a perfect non-Fire Lord.

There was the sound of a sniffle, and Azula was surprised to find that Noriko was crying. The old woman dabbed at her eyes as Noren put an arm around her.

Kiyi was grinning. "That was wonderful! Can I clap again?"

Azula wanted to tell the little rat to go find some cheese to take back to her hole, but Aang chuckled and said, "I don't see why not."

Kiyi proceeded to applaud, and then added a cheer-like squeal. "Congratulations! I hope you two will be happy!"

Was this simpleton unaware that she had just witnessed a political marriage? Azula considered several withering retorts, but eventually decided that the stupid girl wasn't worth the effort.

Then she at least turned her gaze to Mai.

Her old friend shrugged and finally spoke. "I guess we're done here." There was none of the usual sass, the usual hint of challenge.

Azula nodded. "I suppose that you are."

Mai stepped out from behind the servant family and guided Noriko, Noren, and Kiyi out of the room. Finally.

Azula turned to her new husband. " _Now_ we can eat."

* * *

By the time they finished the meal- a few vegetarian dishes ordered straight from the Royal Kitchens, eaten right on the couches in Azula's receiving parlor- Aang could barely keep his eyes open.

He fumbled his chopsticks for a last bit of cauliflower. His fingers weren't used to working them, and as his consciousness faded it became all the more difficult.

He startled back to wakefulness as Azula plucked the sticks from his hands. "You should sleep." She leaned over him, taking the plate out of his lap and pushing him down on the couch. "It's been a while since you've done more than sit in the dark." Her lips quirked again, and her warm breath splashed across Aang's head as she added, "You'll need to build up your strength again before we start really vexing Zuzu. You'll need to be able to run away, at least."

Aang half-laughed, half-yawned. "You're funny."

"Thank you for noticing." Her voice was more distant now, and Aang could no longer keep his eyes open long enough to look for her. "I'll make sure your apartment is ready by the time you wake up."

Aang burrowed his head against the cushions. "I'm not staying here?"

"Ha. You have your own sense of humor, it seems." Then there was quiet, and everything began to fade away. Perhaps it was a dream, but thought he felt a pat on his head that was somehow both heavy and hesitant, and a voice he thought he should recognize say, "Sleep the sleep of the strong."

Aang's didn't know what that was, but he did dream. He could fly once again, up in the sky above the concerns of the world, where he could trust the winds to hold and support him.

The truth intruded in the form of voices, not the ghosts who haunted him in the prison, but voices so lack in emotion that they could only be real.

Aang forced his eyes open. On the other side of the parlor, someone was leaning through the door, a shadow backlit by the orange glow of the hallway beyond. He heard Azula's whisper, and then an unfamiliar, bored voice. Aang blinked, and then the door was closing, the shadow moving into the parlor, angling for the bedroom.

Aang waved a hand. "What was that?"

The figure stopped. It remained still in the darkness, one with the quiet and cold air. Then it moved towards him, drawing close enough for Aang to recognize his wife in the moonlight. She was no longer in her armor, no longer styled for a political fight, but merely a woman in a robe with a tired face and hair pulled back in a practical ponytail.

She crossed her arms. "Did I wake you?"

Aang shrugged. "Probably. Are we in danger?"

She stared at him for a moment, and then huffed and gave him a smile. "No more than usual. That was just a servant with a bit of news."

"Do I get to know what it is?"

Azula tilted her head one way. Then the other.

Finally, she said, "I suppose so. It _is_ meant to be something of a wedding present for you, but I wasn't going to wrap it, anyway. That servant just unknowingly passed on a coded phrase that means the former Admiral Zhao died this morning. He slipped and fell off the cliffs near the estate where he's been spending his retirement."

Aang remembered the arrogant man who had locked him up, only to have Zuko steal 'the Avatar' out from under his nose. And as much as Aang kind of hated the man, he didn't like the way Azula phrased the news. "And why would you need a coded phrase for that?"

Azula leaned over and dropped a kiss on the top of his head with cold, limp lips. "I hope you like your gift, my husband."

She rose and turned back towards the bedroom-

Aang snapped a hand out and grabbed one of her arms. "That's terrible! I never wanted him dead!" It was close enough to the truth to be worth saying. "I never asked you to kill him! But-" He blinked, and felt the strength leave his arm as he thought things through. "But you didn't even know I was going to marry you until last night!"

"Yes, I had to start arranging things ahead of time. But I though the risk worth the payoff." She didn't even turn to look at him. "Why are you upset? He was a worthless man who hurt you."

Aang could no longer stand the touch of her. He let go and flopped back down onto the couch. "Someone would have to do a lot more than just hurt me to make me want them dead. Feelings like that don't do anyone any good."

She finally angled her head to look back at him. "Is that Air Nomad philosophy?"

Aang shut his eyes so that he wouldn't have to look at the way her golden eyes palely reflected the moonlight. "I thought you didn't want to get Zuko angry yet."

"Zuzu doesn't care about Zhao. He tired of that little victory years ago. And by all accounts the death is an accident." In a whisper that was hot and cold at the same time, she added, "If you don't want to hurt anyone, how do you expect to fight my brother?"

Aang wanted to cover his ears so that he could no longer hear her voice. "The right way."

"Hm." She stepped slowly so that she was behind the couch, looming somewhere above him, and he thought he felt a heat coming down onto him. "Is this marriage over before it really begins?"

Aang was tempted to say so, but he wasn't under any illusions about his options. "No. But I'm not going to let you murder anyone. Not anymore."

"Well, then, you're going to be playing with fire." The heat went away, and Azula's footsteps drifted back towards the bedroom. "You agreed to marry me, Av- _Aang._ Any burns you get are your responsibility. Try to learn to _enjoy_ the pain."

He knew no more sleep, that night.

 **AND THUS THE AVATAR AND THE FIRE PRINCESS BEGAN THEIR LIFE TOGETHER**


	2. Bad Joke

**Part 2 - Bad Joke**

"Like this?"

Aang exhaled at the same moment that he snapped his right hand out in front of him, palm upward. It was a different kind of motion than he was used to, all aggression and speed, but it found a ready receptor in his Qi, and a burst of flame popped into being in the air above his palm.

It was small and dull in the sunlight, and the breeze that wafted through the Royal Caldera Park battered at its shape, but it was a fire, and it was burning. Aang was now a Firebender.

Kiyi clapped. "You did it!"

"You're a good teacher." Aang smiled, looking down at his little flame. It was like a thing alive, breathing and dancing, freer than the nation that revered it.

Or the people.

They had nothing they could do, it seemed, but play with fire.

The thought brought back memories of Aang's wedding night, when he learned of the murder his wife ordered as a 'wedding gift' to him. She had pushed the blame off on him, saying it was because he had agreed to her whole scheme in the first place.

The fire flared in Aang's hand, the heat searing his palm. He hissed as he lost control and the flame died with a pop and burst of smoke.

"Aw," Kiyi said as Aang flapped his hand to chase away the pain. "You almost had it."

Aang looked at his palm. It was red and tender, but the skin didn't seem to be damaged. "I let myself get distracted. Not a good idea when Firebending, I guess. Airbending is a little more forgiving." He grinned at his young teacher. "Unless you're learning to fly. Then you _really_ want to pay attention to where you're going."

Kiyi's laugh rang across the park, carrying on the breeze to reach the trees and ponds around them. "Can you fly? For real?"

Aang shrugged. "I used to be able to, but no Airbender can do it without a glider of some kind. I had a tall staff that could flip out some wings as wide as this." He spread out his arms to demonstrate. "Without something like that, I can just jump really high and slow my fall with a strong wind. And run really fast, but that's probably not as impressive. Useful, though."

"Wow."

Aang missed being able to fly, especially on days like this, with clear skies and bright sun and excited little breezes dancing about. He missed being able to ride Appa up to where the air was cool and thin, where falling took so long that it felt like floating on the ocean waves.

He hoped Appa was happy, somewhere.

He hoped Appa was alive.

Aang sighed, and brought back the fire in his palm. "Well, now that you showed me how to do this, I can share with you one of the other great skills of the Air Nomads. And this one is a _secret._ As the oldest Airbending Master to ever live, I have decided to share it with you."

Kiyi wrinkled her nose. "But you're not old."

"Aren't I?" Still holding the little flame with one hand, he reached into the satchel he had brought with him to the park. "I'll have you know that I'm no less than one hundred and sixteen years old! I might even be a hundred and _seventeen_ ; I haven't really been counting."

Kiyi's jaw dropped. "You're fibbing! You're younger than Zuko- er, I mean the Fire Lord."

"I'm not fibbing, I'm mysterious. There's a difference." From out of the satchel, Aang pulled out the little pan that he had asked the Royal Fire Palace Kitchens to prepare for him. "My master passed this skill on to me. The trick-" He slid the lid off of the pan, revealing a bowl-like cake and the half-solid goo in the center. "The trick is how you make the gooey center. First, we'll heat it with our Firebending, and then when the filling is nice and loose, I'll use my Airbending to fluff it up. And _then-_ " He looked around and leaned closer to Kiyi.

She leaned forward, too. "Then what?"

Aang grinned. "Then we fling it at the guards who follow me around everywhere." He glanced across the park, at the three armored Crimson Guard who had followed him from the palace, and had been observing him this whole time. Aang couldn't leave the palace without such a group; even in the palace, one of them followed him everywhere.

Kiyi looked at them, and burst into laughter.

She still hadn't calmed down when Head Palace Maiden Jingfei shoved her way through the cluster of guards and stalked over. " _Kiyi!_ What are you doing here?"

Kiyi's gangly body stiffened and her eyes went wide. "Oh! I- uh- Aang- uh, Prince Aang- he- uh-"

"Lady Mai needs to start getting dressed for dinner soon. Who gave you permission to be out here?"

Aang wondered if he had the authority to do so, as a Fire Prince, but elected not to try this time. From what had been explained to him, the fact that his marriage to Azula wasn't yet 'Recognized' by Zuko meant he had none of the real power of his title. Besides, Jingfei reminded him too much of the crankier nuns at the Eastern Air Temple.

Back when people still lived at the Air Temples.

And Kiyi could speak for herself. "Mai- uh, Lady Mai was just sitting in her room looking sad so I asked if I could go out for a bit and she said she didn't care!"

Jingfei let go of the girl and crossed her arms like Mother Iio used when catching young monks taunting the baby sky bison. "Professionals do not ask their Ladies if they can shirk their responsibilities. You are to remain near the Lady Mai at all times while on duty, ready to address her needs. Now, come along."

Kiyi gave one last apologetic smile to Aang before Jingfei yanked her away. He wished he could have helped her, but he didn't know yet which battles were safe to wage, even if he won.

Well, maybe he could get his Crimson Guards to help him cook the cake.

Aang glanced over to them, actually considering it, and spotted a new addition to the park's beautiful sights.

Azula was beside a distant tree, across from the guards, staring at Aang.

Their eyes met, and then she turned and walked off.

That night, when Aang returned to the suite he shared with his wife- Zuko would not award Aang with his own place, so he had taken over Azula's meditation room as his nest to avoid interacting with her as much as possible- there was a card on top of his bed, a written request from Azula to meet for tea the next day.

His wife wanted a word with him, it seemed.

* * *

Azula made sure that the tea was ready and hot when Aang arrived for their appointment. Of course, she was a Firebender, so it was hardly a difficult thing to arrange.

She had prepared a small table on one of the wide balconies on the palace's central tower, the elevation providing a particularly impressive view of the Royal Caldera City. Two cups waited on opposite sides of the table, and in the center, she had placed a single anemone flower on a small plate, the pink and white petals surrounding a yellow center not unlike a sun. No servants were present, so Azula poured the tea herself. Uncle, if he was still alive, would surely be proud.

Aang kneeled at the table but didn't touch his cup. "You wanted to see me?"

His voice was cold.

Azula sipped at her own cup of tea. It was hot.

The only sound on the balcony was the whisper of the summer breeze.

Finally, Aang picked up his cup and took a drink.

Azula suppressed a smile. "I hope you have been integrating well into palace life."

It was the first opportunity to ask, even though they were living together. Aang avoided Zuko's court, and Azula rose early enough that she was usually out at her morning Firebending practice by the time her husband awoke. They never attended the formal meals in the dining hall together. Azula's main parlor had become a kind of No Man's Land, just a space for them to quickly pass through on their way to the isolation of their bedrooms.

Given the situation, she was not surprised at Aang's disbelieving expression. "You and I are married, but we haven't spoken in months. Zuko communicates to me in nothing but growls. Mai communicates to the whole world in nothing but sighs. And none of the people I see coming in and out of the palace do anything but stare at me from a distance and whisper."

Azula knew all of that. With the evident distance between husband and wife, no one wanted to risk involvement with a foreigner who might prove to be an enemy. But it was hardly _her_ choice to make such a farce of the marriage. Who would have guessed that pompous Zhao could cause such trouble just by being dead? Or, more specifically, murdered on Azula's order, but that hardly relevant.

But she kept her voice bland- Mai was a good inspiration for that- as she replied, "Oh, that is too bad. The Caldera is home to the greatest citizens of the Fire Nation."

"Yeah." Aang took another drink. "Greatest."

Really, what did this stupid monk think he was accomplishing? He was making a pariah of himself and thus a target for Zuzu. Was _Zhao_ of all people worth ruining this grand opportunity?

Well, if he wouldn't be useful of his own accord, Azula would _make_ her husband help her.

She kept her gaze on the anemone flower. "I have seen you spending time with the Palace Maiden Kiyi. That is good. She is a darling child."

Aang blinked. "She's the only one just seems like she wants to be happy."

Azula couldn't fathom what his point was. So she merely repeated, "Such a darling child."

Aang stared at her over his tea.

Azula poured herself another cup. "I expect she would do you a simple favor, if you asked her."

Aang leaned back, his eyes hard.

Well, if he wasn't going to be fooled, then there was no need for the slow approach. "As a nominal part of the government- my brother's idea, although I have no clue what he was thinking- Mai receives reports of the activities and foibles of the people in Zuko's court. It's been ages since she bothered to read those reports, and one of Kiyi's duties is to burn them when updated copies are distributed."

Aang frowned. "No-"

"No one would notice," Azula interrupted, "if instead of burning them, Kiyi could simply brought them to you. The danger would be minimal. I couldn't care less about the girl's life, but if she was caught, I have no doubt that you'd throw me into the dragon's maw and confess everything to my brother than let her come to harm. So trust my sense of self-preservation, if nothing else."

Aang, to his credit, seemed to really consider that. He finished his tea as he thought it through, and still seemed distracted as Azula refilled his cup from the pot.

Finally, he said, "And what do you plan to do with the information?"

Azula wasn't sure if he was teasing her with such a stupid question. "I'm not yet safe enough to operate directly against my brother. But with the right information, I'm very good at convincing people to help a poor Princess out."

Aang snorted. "And some of that help would involve hurting people. Or killing."

Azula successfully resisted the urge to splash her tea in his face. "I really don't know what you think can be accomplished against someone like my brother without violence. He commands armies. His wife is covered in knives, and I can assure you that if I made so much as a dash towards him, she would fill my body with metal before I made two steps. As for what he would do to me personally- well, he is a kinslayer and a brute. I doubt it would be quick."

Aang shook his head. He still hadn't touched his tea. "You don't have to convince me that Zuko is bad. But _you_ had someone killed just to please me."

"Someone who delighted only in his own petty cruelties."

"And you don't?!" Aang slapped his hands down on the table, splashing his tea all over.

The flower had been knocked from its place, and floated in the puddle of tea.

Azula could only blink. Not just at the display of anger, but at the implication. Was he accusing her of being as bad as Zhao? As _Zuko?_ "When," she said, unable to keep the hurt out of her voice, "have I ever been _petty?_ "

"You don't think trying to make me feel guilty about Zhao's death is petty?" Aang made a disgusted sound. "That was all you, but you wanted me to feel responsible. That's bullying, and the only point was to hurt me."

Azula's fists clenched. How dare he-

How dare he-

How dare he _be right!_

It was a realization that cooled her Inner Fire. Trying to make him think himself ultimately responsible for Zhao's death had indeed been a spiteful little swipe. He deserved it for spurning her gift and judging her like he was some kind of moral authority, but- well, the scale of it could hardly be denied.

And yes, Zhao would have done the same thing.

 _Zuko_ would have done the same thing.

(But neither one of them would have been as good at it.)

Too bad Father wasn't here. He was always so good at explaining to Azula why she was strong, why she was special. Surely, he would be able to tell the difference between her motivations for hurting Aang and the kind of pettiness that had always plagued Zhao.

He had always told her she had a grand destiny.

Now, she was just concerned with survival.

As her thoughts on the matter went in circles, Aang righted his teacup and left her.

* * *

It was just as well that Aang had stolen Azula's meditation room to be his own little apartment. He spent a lot of time meditating, these days.

Right now, though, he was having trouble getting into the proper state of mind.

Ever since taking tea with his wife, he had been thinking about what he was doing with his life, aside from planning cake pranks. Azula hadn't been wrong, exactly, about Zuko having every advantage. He was sure she was wrong about having to become as bad as him to accomplish anything, though.

Earlier, Aang had gone to dinner down in the main dining hall, where the Fire Lord himself took his meals. The room was large, with a long table that could have accommodated a good party, but the Royal Family didn't have that many people. Mai hardly ever came down to dinner. Kiyi, presumably, was waiting on the Royal Consort. The servant woman Noriko was there, at Zuko's right hand, but her husband Noren was busy with some task.

With Aang there, that made three at the massive table, and things had been as awkward as they could get, really.

It was a silent meal, for the most part, until Aang said, "So, Zuko, any chance of me getting my own rooms?"

Zuko had glared at him. "Why would I give you a place in my home, Avatar?"

Aang had shrugged as he picked at his food with his chopsticks. "Well, I'm already here, aren't I? It seems kind of silly to get hung up on the details."

Zuko had merely grunted. Maybe calling him silly had been a mistake.

It was Noriko who had rescued the conversation. "You're still not getting along with Azula? I have to say, that saddens me."

Aang nodded. "Me, too. But Air Nomads value peace and respect for all living things. Azula's way of seeing the world is- uh, irreconcilable."

Zuko had actually made a sound that could have been a laugh.

Noriko, however, had sighed. "It's the influence of her father. He rewarded that girl's worst impulses. I had hoped, with him gone, that she would-" Then Noriko inhaled sharply, raising a hand to cover her mouth, and looked to Aang as if she expected him to be offended at her words. "My apologies. I have spoken out of turn."

"The Avatar," Zuko had growled, "was just finishing his meal, anyway. Isn't that right?"

Aang heard the sounds of soldiers' boots on the floor behind him. His usual guards, probably.

"Yeah, sure." He looked down at his half-eaten dinner. "All done."

Now, his growling stomach was just one of the distractions keeping him from entering the proper frame of mind to meditate.

Well, at least he could so something about that. He went to the knapsack he had brought to the park earlier that day, and retrieved the cake tin. He could get another one when Kiyi was free-

Wait a second.

Aang was starting to get an idea- a way not only to find a purpose for himself, but perhaps help show Azula a better path.

And perpetrate a good prank!

* * *

Azula spent the whole next day at the training room in the palace's basement. She summoned Firebenders from the Temple and dojos to come and spar with her, throwing herself into hours filled with flame and sweat and movement and danger.

She won every match.

Of course.

Although the real value of such simple battles was the opportunity to sort out her thoughts. She was fighting the best Firebenders in the capital, but each was just a single opponent confined to a ring; she didn't need to pay attention to stay alive. It was a nice change of pace from the rest of her life.

Mostly, she was thinking about whether or not she was petty and cruel, as Aang had accused.

It didn't take long to decide that, yes, she was.

Life had taught her that the only path to perfection was careful dissection of failures, reevaluation of methods, and implementation of improvements. She had learned those lessons after Zuzu had been banished, leaving her with no one to compete against but herself. Father, as any worthy parent and teacher would, held her to the highest standards, pointing out every occasion when she failed to attain complete perfection. She had requested that Li and Lo do the same thing, overseeing all of her practices and lessons to look for the flaws she herself might have missed.

Now, there was no one to do that for her. Zuzu had retired Li and Lo to Ember Island to further isolate her. And Father-

Azula could not deny what her self-analysis was revealing. She remembered every time she threw a rock at a turtleduck. Every chipsquirrel tail she had lit on fire. The satisfaction of making Ty Lee cry. The delight in giving Mai nightmares. The unfailing humor that was rubbing Zuzu's face in his every single failure. All petty, all cruel, all just like Father had wanted.

Just like Zhao.

Just like Zuko.

But it was right and proper to prove herself stronger than those around her, lest she be thought less than perfect. She'd rather be petty and cruel than a failure.

And yet she despised Zhao for such wastefulness. Zuko perpetrated such things on her every day, and she would gladly show him what it looked like to be hunted by a kinslayer.

What was the difference?

Why couldn't she see it?

It had been a long time since Azula received any true insight into herself. That was valuable, because knowing how others see you could be used as a weapon against them. This blind spot was valuable knowledge. She didn't know how to address it, yet, but she could pay more attention the kinds of attacks that might exploit it.

It was a few months late, but Aang had given her quite the wedding present, in exchange for Zhao's death. She'd have to be sure to use it against him.

It was with that thought in mind that Azula defeated her latest opponent, her breath burning in her lungs, her muscles aching, her body drenched in sweat. How long had she been fighting? What day was it? How had she lost track?

It was then that one of the Palace Maiden servants stepped into the ring, holding up a single anemone flower. It was the same one she had used to decorate their tea break; the white edges of the petals were wilting to brown. "Your highness, your husband invites you to take dinner and dessert in your rooms in half an hour. Shall I prepare a bath for you?"

Azula frowned. She thought she had thrown the flower away. How had Aang retrieved it?

And what was the meaning behind sending it with the invitation?

A continuation of the matter they had discussed over tea?

Or was there meaning in the flower itself?

Azula would simply have to find the answers herself. "No bath," she told the servant woman. "A true champion does not hide from a confrontation." She snatched the flower from the servant, burned it in her hand, and headed for her room.

When she shoved open the door and stalked into the receiving parlor, she found Aang leaning over the central table, his hands swirling in Airbending motions over a cake on a plate. Azula could almost see the spiral of air that was whipping and raising the cake's fruit filling.

Azula put her hands on her hips and stared at her husband. "What is this?"

Aang straightened and ran a hand over his shaved head. "You're early. I was just finishing the dessert, but dinner won't be here for half an hour."

Azula looked down at the cake. The filling was pink. She wondered what fruit had been used to produce it. "So I see. But why bother with the artifice? Whatever you have to say to me, just get it over with."

"Yesterday you invited me to tea." He smirked at her. "And you brought me dinner when you proposed. I thought that was how treason was done here in the Fire Nation."

"Usually." Azula relaxed her arms and began stalking around him in a circle. "But you spilled your tea, yesterday, when you accused me of being just as bad as Zhao and Zuzu. I assumed we were beyond the usual niceties."

Aang turned to keep her in view. "Then I guess we are. So I guess we can skip straight to dessert?"

Azula quirked an eyebrow. Yesterday, he had called her petty and cruel. Now he was inviting her to dinner and making her cake? "I suppose that depends on the gift."

A quick hand movement from Aang created a breeze that lifted the cake into his grasp. He held it out towards her and bowed his head. "For my lovely berry of a wife, made from the finest burn-berries."

Azula stopped circling him and took the cake, trying to understand. What was he-

There was something in the filling.

She fished it out, and found a stained, messy leather pouch.

She put the cake down and unsealed the pouch, revealing a folded piece of paper.

Once she had unfurled it, she saw High Sage Xinghao's name was at the top, and the rest of the wrinkled page listed dates, times, and locations.

She looked up at Aang. "What is this?"

He grinned at her. "Page 1. Page 2 has the names of the people he met with."

Azula realized what she was holding. "You got Kiyi to bring this to you." He had done it! He had submitted to her! The information she needed to continue her war against Zuko was in her hands! "Good boy. I might even forget that you called me petty and cruel."

Aang's grin widened. "Nope. Kiyi wasn't involved. In fact, she was with Mai all day, always in sight. Just like you were at the sparring field with a bunch of people watching you."

What game was he playing at? "And you?"

Aang shrugged. "I'm always followed by the Crimson Guards. I couldn't have been out of sight for more than half a minute at a time, but nowhere near Mai's rooms. For me to get there when no one was looking, I would have had to fly. But everyone knows an Airbender needs a glider to fly. No one quite knows that Airbenders can run so fast that we can walk up walls. Or towers."

Azula rolled her eyes. "If you think drawing the explanation out makes it funnier, I'm sorry to have to disillusion you. You're not very good at jokes."

"Well, that's because this isn't a joke. This is a prank."

"On who?"

"Well, Zuko and Mai, for one. And you, kind of."

Azula didn't like where this was headed. Did this shaved freak think he could play with her like a pet? She resumed circling him. "Pranks are for children and fools. And it is especially foolish to treat me like a joke."

Aang actually slumped a bit, letting his gaze fall to the floor. "One of the wisest monks I ever knew loved pranks, and he was pretty old. Maybe you don't know as much about pranks as you think you do."

Azula rolled her eyes. "Then maybe you should get to the point of this before I get impatient."

"You haven't figured it out, yet? How many pages do you think were in the report?"

Azula stopped short. She looked at the single page in her hands, and then at the cake. There were no more hidden pouches in that filling, and a quick look around the room revealed nothing that seemed to be out of place. "Where is the rest of it?"

Aang turned and waved his hands at her. "See! That was a great prank!"

Azula glared at him. She would not betray her self-control by asking again.

But Aang just ambled over to the couch and lounged down on it. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about over dinner. What do you think you can do with that page I already gave you?"

Azula ground her teeth together, but looked down at the page. A list of meetings that the High Sage had been taking, including some with people who were a bit less than reputable? "There's always blackmail, of course. But that mandates letting the victim know what kind of information you have, so there's risk. I would start by simply identifying which of these meetings and people might be of interest to us, and investigate further. Perhaps some of them are pursuing agendas that could benefit me, and I could provide some kind of assistance."

Aang nodded. "See, I think that sounds okay. I got this information without endangering anyone, and you want to use it in a way that's peaceful but still a help to us. I wouldn't mind sharing more of the documents to help take this further."

Us.

He said 'us.'

Azula saw what this was about, now. "You think you can control me? Limit the hurt I can inflict?"

Aang frowned. "I wouldn't say I want to 'control' you. I don't think anyone can be controlled."

Azula had to bite her lip to keep from laughing at that. "Is that more monk wisdom? Like this prank you're playing on me?"

"I guess. But the point is that I'd be happy to work with you as long as we fight the right way, and it would have a better chance of working if I was doing more than just following your orders."

Azula nodded, stepping over to the couch. "I see. You want an equal partnership, and you'll do that by being the one to dole out the information. I presume you can get updated copies?"

"I have some ideas about that, but I'll need your help. I don't think we should steal Mai's copies every time. That will probably cause a lot of trouble."

It was a good point. "As you say. Well, I'm willing to give this arrangement a try. You were right that I can be petty and cruel, and as it's been the undoing of more than one of my enemies, I can see the wisdom is hearing your perspective. There's just one thing we need to establish, if we're going to make this work."

Aang sat up. "Great! What is it?"

Azula smiled down at him.

Then she used a hand to shove him down on the couch, smacking the back of his head against the armrest and pinning him flat on the cushions. She swooped down so close that their noses were practically touching, and then brought up her other hand to hold a conflagration of blue flames right next to their faces.

The heat pouring off the fire stung her cheeks and sent sweat dripping off of her and to splatter on Aang's terrified visage.

"You have no control over me," Azula whispered. "If at any point you begin to think that you're above me, or that you can humiliate me for your amusement, I will singe the skin and muscles off your bones and burn down this whole campaign against Zuko. As you pointed out, I am petty and cruel. Do keep that in mind, the next time you think to prank me."

Aang gave a shaky nod.

Azula smiled. "Good. I'm glad we understand each other." She let the flames wink out, and luxuriated in the feel of cool air against her face again. "Oh, and before I forget, thank you for this. This, and pointing out one of my few flaws. I think we're going to work well, together."

Then she dropped a quick kiss on his lips, tasting the mix of her own sweat and his terrified breath.

"Well," she said as she let go of him and stood up. "We have a few minutes before dinner should get here. I think I'll have a bath and save dessert for later, after all. Fix that cake so that it looks presentable."

* * *

It took Aang a few minutes, even after Azula left, to feel safe enough to get up off the couch. "I think-" He breathed in and out, and then wiped at his face. "I think I might have pranked myself, there."

 **AND THUS THE AVATAR AND THE FIRE PRINCESS JOINED FORCES**


	3. Silk

**Part 3 - Silk**

The coarse fabric of her clothes shifted against Azula's skin as she walked, so unlike the silks that had made up a lifetime of wardrobes up to this point. It was stiff in ways that almost reminded her of her ceremonial armor, but she aware of the lack of protection with every breeze that pushed through the threadbare material. The feel of these clothes on her body was an odd sensation, not quite painful yet more than merely uncomfortable.

But then, there were many new sensations she was experiencing today.

Her feet hurt from so much walking. She kept sneezing from the dust of the road, and her sinuses were warring to just shut down and stay closed. She had only the vaguest idea of where she was going, a dot on a map whose lines had so far failed to convey the humidity in the air or tallness of the trees or the fallen bridge that had added a three-hour detour to the journey. The only acknowledgement she had received from her any of her subjects was a lazy eyeing, head to toes and back, from a man walking in the opposite direction. He had quickly looked away when he noticed Aang, hooded and carrying a tall staff, walking along behind her. All other travelers had ignored them.

Azula was on her first road-trip, and it was proving to be a fascinating experience.

When she said so to her husband, he had given her a little smile from beneath his hood. "The Air Nomads used to say that even though we had our Temples, our true home was the roads we found on all our journeys."

"And when one road becomes too dangerous, you can always find another." Until all roads were lost, of course.

"That's right."

Fascinating.

Azula thought about her own home, back in the Royal Palace, and the fact that she was fairly certain that her Lord wanted her dead.

How many roads did she have left to her?

* * *

The seed of her journey had been planted the day before, when she stopped by her brother's court to hear the latest round of public petitions.

(Zuzu reserved sessions each week for the public to come and ask him favors while his court watched. It was so very droll.)

It wasn't often that Azula put in an appearance before the Flaming Throne. None of Zuko's ministers or courtiers had any respect for her, but it wasn't their condescending attitudes that normally kept her away. Being too visible made her into a target for whoever was currently seeking Zuzu's favor, and while she was confident in her abilities, simple laws of probability stated that eventually one attack would get past her defenses. Why increase risk when there was so little to be gained?

But being too invisible was also a problem. It demonstrated weakness, a need to hide, and that could make her an enticing target as well.

And so she made occasional visits to the court, standing and making small talk between petitions while Zuzu sat atop the throne and looked down on them all.

Although, there was another reason why Azula usually stayed away: she found it absolutely maddening how stupid her brother truly was.

"Explain it again," Zuzu told one particular petitioner, just before the business that would later put Azula and her husband on the road, "this time a bit slower."

"Of course, Fire Lord," the petitioner, a businessman from the colonies named Loban, had replied. "But really, you don't need to know the details of the chemical process. The important thing is the discovery that rapid, extreme cooling during the second phase will actually strengthen the material, but there is no mechanical way to bring that capability to our factories in the former Earth Kingdom. And the forge at the North Pole is very small, not suitable for producing significant quantities."

Despite the scar that marred his face, Zuko was at least able to maintain the image of a powerful Fire Lord. But he hadn't been able to keep the doubt from his voice as he said, "I understand the problem, though not your solution. What do you ask of this court?"

Loban bowed his head. "Merely that you allow the Governance Office to issue class-three work and relocation permits to Northern Waterbenders. My businesses have long had great success with Earthbenders in the class-three program, with no major security incidents, and the class-two program at the North Pole has demonstrated our ability to put Waterbenders to use. This would merely be an incremental step on the Fire Nation's path to further greatness."

Zuko seemed to think about it for a whole fifteen seconds. "Very well. The Elemental Outreach program will begin allowing registered Waterbenders to be relocated to the Earth Kingdom for employment purposes. Minister Lee, I expect you to begin implementing this policy as soon as possible. What resources do you need to make that happen?"

While Lee made a play for more funding, Azula was using all of her willpower not to scoff at the whole display. Although she generally approved of the Elemental Outreach program, of finding ways for Earthbenders and Waterbenders to use their abilities to serve the Fire Nation, she was far from convinced that this Loban had the security capabilities to handle forced displacement of Waterbenders. Class-three permits had so far only been used to move Earthbenders to other locations in the former Earth Kingdom, both voluntarily and compulsory. Psychologically, there was a huge difference between forcing a Bender to move to new province and dragging a Waterbender down from the North Pole to a factory in the middle of hot rocky badlands.

But there was little Azula could do about it. Either Loban had a way to cow the Waterbenders and prevent them from lashing out, or he would soon discover that successfully pushing around the Fire Lord wasn't always good for business.

"I see," Zuko was saying by then. "Given the costs, perhaps the Fire Nation should impose a new tax on materials made using displaced Waterbenders. I think a-"

And then was when opportunity knocked in the form of a sobbing mother.

The noise echoed through the throne room, and Azula turned to see Lord Ukano and Lady Michi, Governors of Omashu, stumbling in. Ukano had his arms around his wife and was practically holding her up as she bawled, but he didn't seem to be doing much better. He plodded across the room with no regard for the line of petitioners or any of the courtiers, several people having to get out of his way to avoid a collision.

A muttering rose up that Zuko cut through with, "What is the meaning of this? Why aren't you in Omashu?"

Michi let out another wail as her husband dragged her up to the center of the throne room. Loban backed away from them as they both collapsed to their knees.

"My son," was Ukano's horse reply. "My son has been taken."

The court descended into muttering again, but Azula ignored it all and began shoving her way forward for a better view. This should prove quite interesting.

Ukano removed a piece of paper and a shred of tan fabric from his sleeve. He dropped the fabric to the floor- silk, from the shine of it- to reveal the large bloodstain in the center. Judging from the pattern of the fabric, it was probably a piece of a boy's school uniform.

Zuko was about to say something, but Ukano unfolded the paper and read out loud, "We have your son. You will not see your Tomoshibi again unless you follow these instructions. We will know if you fail. Go to the Fire Lord's court and read these exact words: that the usurper Zuko is a traitor to his nation and his blood, and his dishonorable conduct is ruining-"

" _Treason,_ " Azula screeched as loud as she could, successfully drowning Ukano out. He paused, startled, and Azula took to the opportunity to add, "Guards, restrain him and prevent him speaking. His wife, too. Everyone else, clear the room. The Fire Lord will hear no more petitions today. And none of you shall speak a _word_ of this." She summoned her fire to her hands, flaring it bright enough to cast the room in blue light for a moment before the warmer color of the Burning Throne returned. "Anyone who disobeys will be held guilty of sedition against the Fire Lord and executed as a traitor to our nation."

The guards and servants were already moving when Zuko uselessly added, "Do as she says."

It was good to know that a commanding royal voice still counted for something in a desperate moment.

Azula kept her place as the guards dragged Ukano and Michi away, and the servants herded the riffraff out of the throne room. It was a shame she had to help suppress the wisdom in the ransom note, but the veracity of the accusation had nothing to do with the fact that someone outside of the Royal Family was daring to criticize the Fire Lord in public. Even if Zuko currently claimed the title, Azula could not possibly tolerate such a thing. It would undermine the authority she hoped to someday steal for herself.

Let the people think they could call one Fire Lord a coward, and soon they'd be calling _all_ the Fire Lords cowards.

Not that it was really possible to keep people from talking about this incident, not now. But at least her threats would keep it down to a chain of whispers, slowing the word and perhaps keeping it from escaping Capital Island.

When the room was at last empty, she turned to look up at Zuko.

She didn't bother to bow before saying, "You need to have a private conference with your wife and your honor-parents.

"I'll go get my husband."

* * *

Aang struggled to keep up with his wife as she led the way to Zuko's private office. "Will the boy- um, Tomoshibi, was it? Will he be okay?"

Azula gave a half-shrug as she stalked forward. "He could already be dead, for all I know. But the bloodstain I saw could have been made without endangering his life. It's a bit of theatrics to motivate the parents, nothing more."

Well, that was a small relief. "So, um, sorry for asking, but why are you bringing me along? I don't really know much about royal kidnappings."

Azula turned to throw him a disgusted glance. "First, this is not a royal kidnapping. Tomoshibi is just Mai's brother, and has no royal blood. Second, you are my _husband._ Whether or not Zuko has Recognized our marriage, you're part of the family, and to shun you would be to insult me. And _I_ am going to be a part of this."

With that, they reached the door to Zuko's office, and the Crimson Guards on either side of the door only had time to raise their hands in warning when Azula shoved it open and stomped inside.

Aang saw everyone's head turn at Azula's entrance, and he took advantage of the moment to slip into the room behind her and closed the door again.

An older man and woman who Aang didn't recognize were slumped in twin chairs; he guessed that these were Mai's parents. Mai herself was standing a step behind Zuko, her face displaying no emotion and her gaze locked on the floor, all as usual. She wouldn't even react to her brother being kidnapped?

Zuko was definitely reacting, though. He had paused in what looked like mid-step when Azula arrived, and now that he had apparently realized this wasn't some kind of attack, he resumed pacing across the room. "We just finished reading the rest of the letter. It's full of the more garbage like what Lord Ukano and Lady Michi already conveyed to the court, as well as a demand for me to surrender the crown to the Fire Sages so that they can investigate my right to rule."

Azula held out a hand. Zuko shook his head, but handed her the note. She immediately began reading it, taking far longer than Aang knew she needed.

For his part, he went over the parents and kneeled in front of them. "I'm very sorry about this. Is there anything either of you need?"

Lady Michi sniffled, and focused her gaze on him. "Are- are you the Avatar?"

"I am. I'll help in any way that I can."

Zuko snorted. "There's no need. I've already sent word out to the military. The kidnappers must have someone here to make sure that the letter's instructions are followed. I'll tear apart the Capital to find them, and hawks have already been sent out to the garrison in Omashu to convey similar orders. The kidnappers have provided us with no clues, so we'll just have to go door-to-door until they're found."

"Unless they know how to hide," Azula said, still examining the letter. "A show of force isn't a bad thing, but we need to be careful not to overreact. People will think the words on the note struck a nerve. Never mind the reaction when lords and ladies suddenly find soldiers breaking their doors down. A bit of finesse can go a long way."

" _Thank you_ for your assistance." Zuko sounded anything but grateful. "I am Fire Lord, and will take your words under advisement."

Aang wondered if Azula knew Zuko would react that way. Well, it didn't matter. He got to his feet and went over to Mai. "And how are you doing? Do you need to sit down?"

She didn't raised her eyes to him. "I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, you know, your brother-" Aang shrugged.

Mai returned his shrug without looking at him. "I am the Royal Consort. I will always be ready to do my duty."

A noise from behind drew Aang's attention away from Mai, and he found that Zuko had stumbled out of his pacing for a moment. A look passed between husband and wife, and then Mai's eyes were back on the ground and Zuko was pacing even faster.

Well, if Mai didn't care about her brother- or didn't want anyone to think she cared- Aang wasn't going to press the issue any further. He went over to Azula to see what was so captivating about the note. "Still reading?"

Azula handed it over to him. "I was just admiring the style. The wording contains several references to Grandfather's speech after the conquest of Gar Sai. It's quite clever, using the phrasings of a past Fire Lord to criticize the current one."

Zuko whirled on her. "Why are you even here?! For all I know, you're probably a part of this!"

"Hey," Aang said, sliding over to stand between the two siblings. "Let's not get carried away. Azula stopped the letter from being read publicly. Why would she-"

Lady Michi let out a wail. "They're going to kill our son!" She collapsed sobbing against her husband. "Why did you stop us? Why?!"

Aang shuddered as he took the opportunity to push Zuko and Azula back from each other.

Zuko threw a glare at Aang, but let himself be pushed away. "I'm going to take our guests to Noriko and explain the situation to her. She can take care of them while we deal with everything. Mai, stay here and take messages for me. I should be quick. Azula, just- just stay out of my way."

Aang tensed for an aggressive retort from her, but she just bowed her head and said, "As you say, my lord brother. Aang and I will remove ourselves from your operations. I believe I've done everything I can for you, at this point. Aang, let's go."

Uh oh.

He definitely hadn't known Azula as long as her brother did, but he knew that it wasn't in her nature to back down- she made strategic retreats in service to her long-term goals. And the fact that she was including Aang meant _he_ was involved on those goals.

So it was with some trepidation that he followed her back to their rooms.

And as soon as Aang closed the door behind them, Azula twirled and grinned at him. "It's former High General Bujing."

Aang blinked at her. "Who is what?"

"High General Bujing, whose resignation was requested by Zuko as his first act as Fire Lord, kidnapped Mai's brother." Azula lost her smile. "Bujing was involved in the original incident that got Zuko banished. He was always wasteful with resources, and Zuzu objected to that a little too strenuously. So my father lit Zuko's face on fire."

It was stated so matter-of-factly, but Aang knew it wasn't a joke. The very thought turned his stomach. He couldn't even imagine Gyatso doing something like that to anyone, never mind Aang himself. "Th- that's horrible!"

Azula gave a limp shrug and went to sit down on one of the parlor's couches. "Father said that suffering would be Zuko's teacher. Certainly, he learned his lessons well. As much as I rejoiced at the time that I would never earn such a punishment, now I wish it had been me. Imagine what I could have become if I had been sent out into the world, crushed by shame and disfigurement, to hunt you down. As it is, my beauty gets me nothing but underestimation, a small reward, and I haven't been outside the Capital since I was an infant."

Azula-

Azula _wanted_ to be hurt and banished by her own father?!

Aang's stomach felt even worse. He had run away when the other monks wanted to separate him from Gyatso. While he appreciated the chance to meet people like Katara and Sokka, he could never imagine wishing to be hurt by his family. "So, uh, what makes you think it's this Bujing guy?"

"Oh." Azula's eyes snapped to Aang once again, and her lips curved again in a smirk. "Bujing served under my Grandfather for the victory at Gar Sai, and received a nice promotion for his actions. He even wrote an essay, on the occasion of my Grandfather's death, analyzing the speech that was given there and declaring it the greatest in all of Fire Nation history."

Aang sucked in his breath. "You mentioned that the note referenced your Grandfather's speech!"

"Indeed. Bujing later oversaw the conquest of Omashu, working closely with Mai's father. He has the knowledge of the area to arrange the kidnapping, and probably knows either active or retired local soldiers who could stage it for him. I know, none of this is solid proof-"

"But it's worth checking out!" Aang's thoughts took a moment to catch up with him. "Wait, why didn't you tell Zuko?"

Azula's face lost all expression. "I pointed out the clue to him. But he just told me to go away. I promised not to meddle in his operations, and if he's not doing anything to track Bujing down, then we won't be interfering if you go to investigate."

"Me?! But I'm followed around by guards whenever I leave the palace! And where am I going, anyway?"

"Ah, that's where our little arrangement comes in." Azula got up off the couch and began pacing the room, just like her brother had been doing. "I'm hoping that the latest intelligence reports you copied contain something about Bujing and his known holdings. I doubt he'd keep the boy in his main residence, but if he has a more remote vacation home or ancestral estate, then those would be easy to lock." Azula's pacing took her right near Aang. She stopped, looked to him, and patted his head. "And we all know you're more than capable of sneaking away if you really want to."

Aang pulled away. "I think we should just tell Zuko. Are you really going to risk the life of a little boy just to show up your brother?"

He realized, as soon as he asked it, that he might not want to know the answer.

Azula took a deep breath, and then let it out slowly. "Zuko will bungle it. Look at what he's doing- sending soldiers to go door to door with no clues. His pride has been hurt, and he'll respond strongly but clumsily, _if he even accepts our help at all._ I can see him dismissing our theory just because of who we are."

Aang winced. "Yeah, me, too."

"I've read the reports of your past battles. I've seen you train. You can sneak out and find the boy before Zuko can ruin things. You'll need to leave tonight, of course, but-"

"We," Aang interrupted. "We need to leave tonight."

Azula blinked. "What?"

"You should come with me. You-" Aang shrugged. "You're smarter than me. You're smarter than pretty much everyone. We'll need that."

Azula blinked again.

Aang offered her a smile. "Besides, you said you haven't been out of the Capital since you were a kid. Wouldn't it be fun to sneak away together and take a trip? We never had a honeymoon."

Azula continued to stare at him. She stepped forward, her eyes locking onto his, peering into him like a sword sliding into his heart. "Very well. I promise you perfection. You can count on it."

Aang took a step back. "I don't need you to be perfect. I'd take you along anyway. You are my wife, after all, and we've managed to find a way to work together. Right?"

Her eyes softened. "Indeed. Speaking of, let's check those reports for Bujing's holdings. I want to give him a heart attack when we show up in the middle of his hideout."

Aang couldn't help but grin. "I like your sense of drama."

* * *

Azula tasked Aang with assembling their supplies and some traveling clothes. He was a Nomad, after all, and would presumably know about those kinds of things. She read over the references in the latest intelligence reports to Bujing suddenly paying off some back-taxes several months ago on his family's old plantation on Hing Wa Island. (So pathetically easy, once you know what to look for.) She assembled some maps and planned the journey they would have to take.

Then all that was left was to actually leave.

An hour before dawn, Aang led Azula to the balcony where they had taken tea a few months ago, just before they found a way to work together.

She tugged at the disguise he had given her, old peasant clothes of an origin that she didn't care to know. "What are we doing here? It's quite far to jump."

Aang leaned over one of the knapsacks he had prepared and pulled out a large sheet of black silk. It looked like he had pulled it off of a bed in one of the palace's nicer guest rooms. "We're going to ride the winds straight out of the Caldera. Here, put on your knapsack, and then hold on real tight to me."

Oh.

Her husband was taking her flying.

Oh.

Azula slid her knapsack onto her back, and tightened the straps as much as she could stand them, while he did the same. Then she approached Aang, and was still trying to figure out where to grab him when he pulled her close and positioned her arms around his waist.

She could feel the heat of his body clearly through their ragged clothes.

Then he whispered, "Don't panic."

On impulse, Azula buried her face against his chest.

He jumped, and the air around them burst into the fury of a storm, and they were falling-

-no, _rising_ -

-and the silk sheet was whipping and snapping and the wind was roaring in Azula's ears and then it all suddenly stopped.

She risked opening her eyes and peeking over Aang's shoulder, finding the whole Caldera spread out beneath her. The streets glowed white in the moonlight, a network like a luminescent web of spider-silk, and at the center of it all the palace cast impotent red light like a dim, dying sun.

It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

And Azula floated above it all, held aloft by invisible forces and the strong warm arms of her husband. Her stomach fluttered as they drifted on the winds at a speed that somehow felt too fast even while the ground they seemed to be covering made it seem slow.

Aang said, "Are you okay?"

Azula held him tighter. "It's the best honeymoon a wife could ask for."

Aang laughed. "Keep that in mind when we get to the landing."

"...landing?"

"I don't have as much control with this set-up as I would with just me and a good glider. We're probably going to hit the ground with a little too much speed."

"...are we?"

Azula could see the darkness of the grassy lands around the volcano starting to pass beneath them.

Aang chuckled. "Don't worry. It won't be bad. Just tuck and roll. Like falling off an ostrich-horse."

Oh. Azula had learned to fall from a komodo-rhino, and that wasn't so bad. She just had to-

"And don't take the full impact on your ankles," Aang added, just as the ground started approaching faster than it had been a second ago.

And then they were crashing. Azula let go of Aang and threw herself forward as she tucked into a ball. The first impact against the ground was hard, though not debilitating, but the real unpleasantness came as she continued to tumble forward and even the wild grass didn't hide every stone and lump and bump in the ground. Eventually, her momentum ran out, and she sprawled to a stop on her back.

The crescent moon glowed above her.

Azula was still lying there when Aang poked his bald head into her vision. "You okay?"

She smiled up at him. "Fine, but that could have gone smoother." Smooth as silk. "We're definitely going to have to practice our landings, if we want them to be perfect."

* * *

Aang took the lead, using the maps Azula had prepared for him, and somehow managed to be surprised at how good it felt to be on the road once again.

He had been too long away from untamed nature. The park in the Caldera was nice, but it was _contained,_ a meek thing that didn't rise above its ever-visible walls. Out here, between the Fire nation cities, trees reached for the sun with their full being, and grass and flowers and brambles and stone all competed with each other from horizon to horizon.

The air felt cleaner, too.

Too bad Appa wasn't here.

But Azula was surprisingly good company. She gazed around with real interest once the sun rose to reveal the lands around him, and she asked the names of some of the flowers. She marched on without complaint, even when her feet obviously started getting sore. At the first village, she accepted breakfast from a street vendor, and the haggling she did for a pair of komodo-rhino mounts was a lot less violent than Aang had expected.

She even took using a bush as a bathroom with good grace.

As they rode along in their rhinos, Aang had asked her about it.

"What," she laughed, "just because I'm royalty, you expect me to be intimidated by a little hardship?"

Aang could only shrug. "I guess so."

"Well. If you wanted that type of thing, you should have snatched Mai up while she was still single. _I_ understand my place as Royalty. I might have been born into unimaginable wealth and splendor, but what is a Lord if not a military leader? What kind of leader does not understand the filth that her subordinates must wade through? Just because I enjoy my lifestyle does not mean that I wouldn't forsake it in an instant for a higher goal. A little dirt and discomfort now will pay off when we return to my brother's court in triumph!"

Really, when she put it that way, Aang didn't know why he had been so surprised. He knew she was driven and strong.

He was just glad that it had been Zuko chasing him, all those years ago, and not Azula. She wouldn't have let him get out of the South Pole before catching and chaining him.

But then, maybe Aang was selling himself short.

It was days of hard riding to get to the ferry. At night, Aang made a ten out of the black silk sheet he had used to fly them to freedom; for the first time ever, he slept alongside his wife. She was a surprisingly light sleeper, frequently moving and occasionally startling herself awake, only to just turn over and immediately drift off again. Aang wasn't used to that kind of company, so he awoke with her, and wondered at the dreams that could break through her self-control.

The ferry ride itself was the first chance to relax that they'd had the whole trip.

"Now if only we could get a chance to bathe," Azula said, as they sat down on a bench on the main deck.

Aang patted her shoulder. "Don't worry. The funk of komodo rhino is covering up everything else."

She didn't smile. "Just because I can tolerate hardship doesn't mean I find it funny."

"Okay, sorry. You should have said something about a bath sooner. I could have scouted around for a lake or river or something."

Azula sighed. "As delightful as that sounds, I'm glad we didn't stop. If a hawk was dispatched from the Capital as soon as I shut down Zuko's court, then Tomoshibi could have been killed days ago."

Aang's stomach hardened into a knot. "You really think we're too late? Then why-"

"No, I doubt Bujing would be so bold." Azula lifted a hand to examine her nails, and began picking at one with her thumb. "He had to know how unlikely it is that Zuko would simply surrender his crown to the Sages, and if _they_ had the guts to do anything about him, they would have done it years ago. No, Bujing is just doing this to make Zuko look weak, and the boy can still be useful for that."

Aang sighed with relief. "Okay. I believe you."

"Of course, Tomoshibi could also have been killed as a liability before we even knew about his kidnapping. I'd say the odds are equal."

Aang groaned. As tolerable she might be, Azula had a lot to learn about being good travel company.

* * *

"There it is," Azula said two days later. "Bujing's father's ash-banana plantation."

The ferry had brought them to Hing Wa island without delay, but finding the plantation had been the slowest part of the whole journey. They had walked a circuit of several villages, asking around for clues to the plantation's exact location.

Aang, naturally, had opened the inquiries with, "Hi, we're looking for Bu-"

Azula had cut him off with a finger-jab into his side. "My husband meant to say that we're tasters from Kirachu Island, looking into the local ash-banana industry. We've heard that some of the best are grown near here, and we're looking specifically for farms close to small volcanos, preferably lands that have their growing done on natural ridges instead of artificial mounds. Could you direct us to such areas?"

As Azula expected, Aang had later asked about it. "What was that stuff about ridges and volcanos?"

Azula couldn't help but smile at a chance to display her cleverness. "Ideal growing conditions for ash bananas. I did some quick reading while you were putting together the last of our escape preparations. Bujing's plantation was listed as an old, successful ash-banana farm, and we can hardly throw his name around if we don't want word to get back to him of our interest. It will take longer, but I'm assuming that if we spot any plantations being guarded by soldiers during out little tour of the local farmlands, that's probably our target."

And, of course, in less than twenty-four hours they did indeed find a run-down plantation near ridged ground, with a volcano on the horizon, which was patrolled by people who walked in measured, professional steps.

Azula and Aang looked down at it from a ridge of abandoned ash-banana farmland. "Well," she said, "can you get in?"

Aang stared for another moment before nodding. "Yeah, but getting out is something else. That's a lot of guards. Dragging a kid along with me is going to be dangerous. For him _and_ me."

Azula considered that. "Then it's a good thing we brought my armor."

"Um, I'm not sure just putting Tomoshibi in some armor is going to help-"

"Of course it won't." Azula was going to get her armor out and start putting it on right there, but then she remembered something that would be a critical flaw in what she had planned. "The armor is for me. But it won't do me any good unless we can find something else."

"What's that?"

Azula suppressed a wince. "A lake or river so that I can wash the stink off. No one is going to believe I'm a princess if I smell like a road trip gone bad." She thought of something else, and hoped that her cheeks weren't as rosy as they felt. "Also, I- I'm going to need help putting my hair in a top-knot."

Aang, thankfully, didn't laugh.

* * *

The boy was huddled in the corner of the room, a stained bandage wrapped around his hand and the front of his uniform's shirt missing a rather large patch, and he looked like he had completely let his grooming go. Aang decided to not just hop in through the window.

Not that he wanted to stay outside for very long, either. Even at night, there were enough torch-carrying guards around to make hanging around in plain view- no matter being perched outside the mansion's second story- a risky move. So Aang didn't linger, but did only poke his head into through the window and coo, "Hey, are you Tomoshibi? I think I'm your Uncle Aang."

The boy's head snapped up, and he eyed Aang for a moment before speaking. "I don't have an Uncle Aang. Are those tattoos?"

"Yup! I earned my arrows when I was a few years older than you. And I'm sorry, I'm not really sure how the family stuff works in the Fire Nation. But your sister is married to Fire Lord Zuko, and I'm married to his sister, Princess Azula."

Tomoshibi squinted for a moment. "Mai says Princess Azula is an evil scourge on humanity but I shouldn't tell that to anyone."

Aang nodded. "That sounds right. Azula's very mean, but I kind of had to marry her. Hey, is it okay if I come in? It's kind of awkward out here."

Tomoshibi shrugged. "Are you here to rescue me?"

"Yup!" Aang eased himself in and closed the curtains of the window behind him. "Only we have to wait here for a bit."

Tomoshibi uncurled, just a little. "Why? I don't like it here. They're mean to me."

"I know. And I'll take you away, soon. But there are lots of bad men out there, and the last time I tried to escape a fortress and fight my way through a small army, I wound up getting tied up and captured by the guy I thought was helping me." Aang frowned at the memory of the Blue Spirit's betrayal. He hoped history wouldn't repeat itself with the other Royal Fire Sibling, but he was already captured, so he doubted he had anything to worry about. "We just have to wait for a distraction."

Tomoshibi stood up, and came over to take Aang's hand. "How long do we have to wait?"

Aang thought the boy's eyes were so much more expressive than his sister's. He wondered if they were really related. "Not long. Princess Azula is actually the one who's going to come help us. She's going to be mean at the people keeping you locked in here. And she's very good at timing and-"

That's when Aang heard something explode outside, followed by a chorus of battle cries, followed by a chorus of panicked yelps.

He nodded. "That's her right now. Come on, I'll just pick you up, and we'll go out the back window-"

* * *

"And so," Azula concluded, kowtowing to her brother like she actually respected him, "having recruited the local corps of Home Guard by appearing before them in all my royal glory and invoking the name of their Fire Lord, I led the assault against the plantation. Bujing, sadly, sustained fatal injuries during the fighting. He apparently joined the battle, only to be hit in the stomach by a fireball, and wasn't found until after everything was over. He must have experienced excruciating pain and suffering before the life finally ebbed from his body."

She was once again in her red silks, once again bathed and perfumed, once again beautiful and sharp and looking perfect at the center of the Throne Room. The courtiers muttered approvingly at the news of Bujing's fate, while Lord Ukano and Lady Michi were still cooing over their restored son up at the base of the Burning Throne.

Next to Azula, dressed for the first time in rich red silks with the gold trim reserved for the Royal Family, Aang remained silent in his own kowtow.

Zuzu finally cleared his throat. "You have done well, Azula. I chose well when I selected you for this mission."

Azula couldn't help raising her head just enough to wink. "Thank you, my lord brother. I am pleased that _my husband_ and I could be of service."

On cue, Aang lifted his head. "Fire Lord, may I petition you on a related matter?"

Azula once again pressed her forehead to the floor. Making faces at Zuzu wasn't going to help with this. Killing Bujing might have. Aang hadn't been happy about that, but the guards had resisted, and so he admitted that there was no alternative.

He didn't need to know that Azula had made a deliberate gift of Bujing's suffering for her brother.

Zuko huffed, up on his throne. "Very well, Avatar. Speak."

"I have returned your family to you," Aang intoned, his voice filling the Throne Room. A trick of Airbending? "I have preserved the honor of the Fire Lord. I did so with my wife, after your gracious permission for our marriage. Given our service, and the teamwork we displayed, I ask that you Recognize our union."

Azula held her breath.

Come on, Zuzu. He wanted to refuse, Azula knew, but he was self-aware enough at this stage of his life to be conscious of his own sense of guilt and obligation. And besides, maybe saving Mai's little brother would bring a little warmth to their marriage, if Mai was even capable of it.

Zuko still had no heir, after all.

"Rise," Zuko barked.

Azula could only presume that he was speaking to both of them. She got to her feet along with Aang, and they both looked up at their Fire Lord.

Zuko glared down straight into Azula's eyes with the full fury of his scar. "I hereby Recognize the marriage of Princess Azula to Prince Aang. The Avatar shall enter the chain of succession in accordance to the Law, and I award him a suite in my home for his own use, as well as the standard stipend for his investment. May your union continue to bring light to our nation."

Azula broke out into a grin. "Thank you, my lord brother. Your pleasure was worth the wait."

When she looked over at her husband, he gave her a smile, but she saw how it didn't reach his eyes, and his body was stiff in his silk robes. Still, he looked so strong in them, his tall and muscular form filling them out better than Zuko could these days. Even his horrific blue tattoos seemed a nice compliment to the red and gold and the healthy tan he had acquired during their travels.

Perhaps there were different kinds of perfection.

 **AND THUS THE AVATAR AND THE FIRE PRINCESS RECEIVED THEIR DUE**


	4. DevotionBlood

**Part 4 - Devotion/Blood**

It all started, ironically, as a way to honor the legacy of the Air Nomads.

"A traveling museum?" Zuko's confusion rang out from the Burning Throne.

Aang nodded from the center of the throne room. "Eventually, but first I'd need to collect the exhibits. I know Zhao had access to some relics from Air Nomad culture-" He had to swallow past the lump in his throat brought on by the thought of Azula's assassination order. "-so I know there are some here in the Fire Nation. And there's an Air Temple on one of the Outer Islands-"

"I know," Zuko interrupted. "The Western Temple. I've been there."

"Great! Well, I'm sure some things can be recovered from there, and the other Air Temples, too. I'd need to find a team who could manage the museum and travel with it, and then probably train them a lot. Because your history books? _Not_ very accurate."

Zuko waved the point away as his courtiers mumbled their confusion. "And what do you hope to accomplish with this?"

Aang squared his shoulders. "I am the last Airbender. It is my responsibility to preserve the legacy of my people. This is a start, educating about what has been lost, and spreading the teachings of my people so that they will find new root."

"And why should I, the Fire Lord, permit the teachings of our enemies to be spread anew across the world?"

The correct answer was because the Fire Nation needed to make up for its crimes, but that was hardly the kind of thing that Aang could say in a public petition. (At least, that's what Azula had told him, and he thought it made sense.) Instead, he said, "You already do it, and you prosper by it. You employ Earthbenders and Waterbenders all over the world. (Sometimes without their permission.) And one of the Earth King's most important advisors now works for your Governor in Ba Sing. And, really, all fighting styles have influenced each other over the ages to make them stronger. Even a lot of your machines were designed by an Earth Kingdom inventor in an Air Temple! It's silly to say nothing good can come from other cultures."

Zuko was silent for a moment. "All your exhibits would have to be approved by the Ministry of Loyal Communications. And I will have final approval of the administrators chosen to run the museum."

Aang bowed his head. "That sounds reasonable." And like something he could fight against in the future, with Azula's help.

"Where will the funding come from?"

"I will pay for the initial phases myself. I'll need to be heavily involved in the accumulating and staffing, anyway. Once the museum is ready to get started, then I'll of course continue to support it, but I'm hoping that others will see the benefit of helping it continue and grow."

"Very well." Zuko raised a hand. "I give you permission to start pursuing this endeavor. In fact, I even have some souvenirs from my visit to the Western Air Temple that I will donate to the cause. But be careful what messages you send with this project, Prince Aang. I will be watching."

Aang bowed. "Of course, Fire Lord." The threat didn't even bother him; he was too busy gritting his teeth and pretending that he and Zuko were buddies, when the relics Zuko was donating had been pilfered as part of hunting Aang down.

But Azula had warned him.

* * *

"I warned you," Azula said to her husband at dinner, later. "Zuzu never just rolls over and admits to being beaten. He always needs to throw in a little something to poison the mood."

Aang popped a spout in his mouth and raised his eyebrows at her. "So do you."

Azula considered that. Aang was quite useful at pointing out her blind spots, but in this case, she judged him wrong. "I disagree. I can indeed be spiteful, but I am more than capable of playing nice and letting my opponents walk away happy in service to a larger goal. Zuzu, on the other hand, has trouble with long-term planning."

"Okay, that's fair." Aang put his chopsticks down on his empty plate. "That's still not exactly a good thing, though."

"Maybe not to an Air Nomad." Azula shrugged as she put her own empty plate down on the table. They were alone in his suite's parlor, as was their custom, sprawled on separate couches as they briefed each other on the day's events. Aang claimed that most families did it and called it 'normal conversation,' but Azula thought making it a proper briefing ensured that all the relevant information was communicated in an orderly manner. "Do you need any further assistance? Perhaps in identifying targets for blackmail so that you can raise additional funds?"

Aang frowned. "I- uh, I have enough money for now. I'm more interested in seeing what kind of stuff I can recover. Zuko only had some old maps and travel journals. The maps will make a nice display, but if I'm honest, their history isn't really going to interest most people. Some statues would be great, but I don't want to take more of that kind of thing out of the Air Temples if I don't have to. So I thought I'd spread the word and see who wants to sell or lend anything they might have to the newest Prince of the Fire Nation."

Azula wasn't sure how much of a response that would get, but it was a reasonable starting point. "Well, if anyone is being stingy and you need to blackmail them, talk to me first. We only have so much incriminating information to work off of, and I don't want to spend it all collecting old panels painted with clouds."

Aang laughed, a real sound of amusement, rich and as light as air. "If I'm going to blackmail someone, it's going to be for something _good!_ "

Azula smiled in return. Aang's laugh was so strange. It was like that of a child, or someone stupid like that Kiyi girl, in its lack of restraint. When Aang laughed, he was making himself completely vulnerable. He sometimes faked amusement, of course, as anyone who had to interact with other people did, but it was always easy to tell when he was insincere. His real laughter came without hesitation. Earning it was an indisputable accomplishment, as insignificant as it might be.

Azula was not good at making people laugh; too many had hesitated before chuckling at her witticisms. Earning Aang's laughter was not insignificant to her.

She was getting better at it, as the months passed.

"Well," she finally said, "I hope this works out for you. Aside from annoying Zuko, I think your project will have some real value to the Fire Nation."

"You do?"

"Certainly! Learning new things is how we stay strong and sharp, and anyone who keeps a narrow focus in their learning is doing nothing but defending their ignorance. There's no telling what kinds of information might be useful. And the Fire Nation certainly doesn't have exclusive access to all the information in the world. I agree with your argument to Zuko completely."

Aang's grin was as honest as his laughter. "Thanks!"

"You are quite welcome. And if I might make a suggestion, the nobility here in the Capital make use of several brokers who deal in 'recovered' antiquities. Our soldiers took quite a few trophies over a century of war, and many have passed onto a shadow market. I could pass on some names?"

Azula hated the way she enjoyed Aang's smiles.

* * *

Aang had to leave the Capital to meet with the first broker, but the showroom of Itsuo of Chung-Ling proved to be worth the trip.

"Wow," Aang hissed as he stepped into the glorified warehouse, his guards a step behind him. Statues the size of buildings, their details obscured by tarps and scaffolding, rose up over a treasure trove of culture- paintings and trinkets and musical instruments and weapons and sculptures and even several long boats. Aang recognized designs from the Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, and the Water Tribes. It reminded him of those pirate traders he visited with Katara and Sokka, the ones whose Waterbending scroll Katara had pilfered. "You have a little bit of everything, here. "

Itsuo himself proved to be an athletic man in simple working clothes, although he wore a pair of what had to be expensive spectacles. "Prince Aang, you do me honor with your presence and awe. Yes, I cast my nets quite far and hire only agents with an eye for value, and I like to think I have an eye for the interesting. Your letter said you were looking for Air Nomad pieces?"

Aang waved his guards to wait by the door. "Yes. I'm looking for things that I can exhibit, things that can illustrate the history of the Air Nomads for the people who don't know about it."

"Ah, a noble intent. Yes, I can show you some nice pieces, I think." Itsuo turned to look out over the sprawl of treasure, and tossed an apologetic smile back at Aang. "Your pardon, but I'm a bit disorganized right now. Several new shipments came in this week, and moving some of it around can be delicate work. If you don't mind a bit of walking, I have several little troves of Nomad culture here."

Aang waved. "Lead the way."

Itsuo proved to be as good as his boasting. He had a lot from what he sourced as the Northern Air Temple, statues and even whole walls and arches cut from the buildings there when the Fire Nation converted it to a research station. "I'll just make a list of what you like for now," Itsuo said, "and we can negotiate the cost later."

He next showcased what he claimed were books of poetry written by an Airbender monk, but Aang didn't recognize the names of any of the poems, and couldn't even really find a sign that it came from an Air Nomad, so he passed on that.

A basket of beaded necklaces proved more promising, for although there were some in the pile of clear Water Tribe origin, others sported tokens with the swirled sigil of the Air Temples. "I'm not sure if all of these will make good display pieces, but I'd like to get them, anyway," Aang said, holding one up to see it better in the light of the overhead crystal lanterns.

Itsuo nodded. "I can sort things into separate bills, if that would help you. Business and pleasure, as it were."

This business was proving to be a pleasure for Aang, but he wondered if it should be. This man was profiting off things stolen from other people. But, in his own way, he was helping to preserve the cultures; the stuff from the Northern Air Temple would have been destroyed if he hadn't bought it all. On the other hand, everything from the Water Tribe had probably been stolen in some way.

Aang wondered if, after he got his traveling museum running, he could see about collecting and returning cultural artifacts to the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes. Even if he couldn't free them from Fire Nation rule, he could give the people something back of their history.

Next, Aang and Itsuo went to see what proved to be a bronze fountainhead in the shape of a sky bison. "I think this came from the Northern Air Temple," Itsuo said, "but I could have sworn I had the full base of the fountain, as well. Maybe someone bought it? I'll have to check the records."

Aang gazed at the craftsmanship of the fountainhead itself, trying to remember if he had seen it before. He had only been to the Northern Air Temple once, before he ran away from home. "I don't think I'd need the whole fountain, anyway. This is a good piece."

"It is, isn't it?" Itsuo pushed his spectacles up the bridge of his nose. "It reminds me of something else, too. Something with an arrow like that? _Ah!_ I have it! Yes, I think you'd be quite interested in that. I believe I put it on display somewhere over this way?" He wandered between a pair of shelves. "This piece isn't as old as the rest. I'm not sure how long such a thing would have lasted without proper care. But yes, this is only a few years old, I think, so the condition should be- _ah,_ here it is!" He gestured.

Aang looked, and-

Oh.

Oh, _no._

Set out on a wide crate was a white pelt, a pelt so large it was folded and stacked so it could fit. The hair was fluffed and shining in the light, most of it an unstained white, but down the center ran a tannish-gray streak that formed the clean lines and decisive point of an arrow.

An arrow just like the one on Aang's head.

A pair of long, smooth horns the size of Aang's whole body were crossed over the center of the pelt.

"This," came Aang's voice, almost as if from a source outside his body, "is only a few years old?"

He couldn't hear Itsuo's reply, but he caught man's nodding just before black started edging in on his vision. His sight became a tunnel focused on the pelt. He _recognized_ this exact coloration, the exact proportions of this arrow. Some artists used to depict sky bison as being essentially identical, but all Air Nomads knew that there were differences, that some had thinner arrows and some had larger arrowheads and the colors could range among any number of subtle shades.

Aang knew exactly which sky bison this pelt had once belonged to.

He swayed on his feet, and it was like the room was spinning around him. His chest felt tight- no, his entire body- as if something was trying to break out. There was an internal pressure that almost hurt but it was becoming the only thing he could feel now and he let himself tumble into it as a lifeline to reality. It became a path that led him to old friends like the roar of the hurricane and the impossibly deep energy of an earthquake and the hunger of a bonfire. Aang took his friends unto himself, drawing comfort from their embrace, and surrendered the wrenching of his heart to their guidance.

Dimly, he was aware of Itsuo's screaming.

* * *

Azula could hear Zuko's shouting from down the hall, but she didn't hesitate to throw open the curtain to the throne room and stomp inside. The sounds of her boots echoed off the walls and pillars, unimpeded without any courtiers or observers present. The only people in the room were Zuko on the Burning Throne and Aang kneeling in chains on the floor.

"This act of war-" Zuko cut himself off when he saw her. "Azula, get out of here!"

She crossed her arms and stared him down, even though he sat so far above her. "Why was I not informed of my husband's return? I had to hear it from that mouse _Kiyi._ "

The flames around Zuko flared. "You stay away from her! She serves Mai- not you."

"And yet _she_ came to _me_ in tears because she saw my husband, who she apparently considers her friend, being brought into the palace in chains and no one would tell her what was going on." Azula raised her eyebrows. "I could sympathize with that last point."

Zuko maintained a petulant silence for a long moment, but Azula had invoked the youngest member of his pet servant family. He made a disgusted sound. "The Avatar lost control of his powers and entered into something known as the Avatar State. He nearly killed the merchant he was meeting and destroyed the man's whole livelihood, as well as a considerable portion of the surrounding warehouse district. He's lucky more people weren't hurt. As it is, the merchant might never walk again."

Lucky.

Azula hated that word.

Father used to say she was lucky. It was yet another of his mistakes. She hated that her Father had made mistakes.

But Azula wasn't about to mention Father to Zuko, not here and now. "The merchant. This is Itsuo of Chung-Ling?"

Zuko nodded. "The Avatar nearly killed a citizen of the Fire Nation, and he won't even speak a word in his own defense."

Azula let out a carefully performed laugh. "Is that your read on the situation? Because it seems to me that Prince Aang of the Fire Nation apprehended a well-known smuggler who has long been protected by the corrupt nobles he supplies with stolen spoils. Items conquered in the name of the Fire Lord that were removed from the sites of victory and sold for profit through dubious channels. You didn't even make anything off of his business, since you have no taxes on art, or what passes for it with a small bribe to a customs agent."

Zuko snorted. "That's ridiculous."

"So is chaining up a member of the royal family who has presented no threat to you!"

"I should throw him in a prison and melt the key!" Zuko jumped to his feet, balling his fists at his side. "This game you've been playing is over! I should never have let the Avatar out, never mind handing him over to you as a pet!"

Azula inhaled, and then it out slowly. When she spoke again, her voice and tone were fully in control. "He is not my pet. He is my husband, whom you have Recognized. He saved your honor-brother from traitors. And I swear, Zuko, _on our Father's ashes_ , that if you take Aang away from me I will become your worst nightmare."

Zuko dismissed her threat with a wave. "You already are."

"No, that's your _weakness_ talking." Azula stepped forward and put a hand on top of Aang's bald head. Aang himself didn't move or react, and his eyes were closed. Was he even conscious? But Azula couldn't worry about that now. She kept her eyes on her brother. "I know you want me dead. I've avoided giving you enough reason to make it happen, before now. But take Aang away from me, and I'll know I have nothing more to lose. If I can't even keep my own husband, if I can lose anything to you because of a whim, I'll finally have a reason to fight you with _everything_ I have. And I can promise that even if you defeat me, I'll take the whole Fire Nation down with me. There won't be enough of it left for you to rule."

Zuko often accused her of lying, but Azula far preferred the truth. Lies were temporary weapons, things used to push people in a certain direction for a time, and very fragile. Truth, on the other hand? The right kind of truth was more effective than an army.

And here, now, Azula was telling the truth to her brother.

Zuko stared at her, his eyes going wide as he saw the truth in her eyes. "I- I don't want you dead. M- I've gone out of my way to keep you alive!"

Azula frowned. Surely, he couldn't be serious.

But Zuko was a poor liar, and she saw truth in his eyes, too.

Had she-

Had she been _wrong_ all this time?

Azula forced the thoughts aside. She couldn't deal with this now. A proper reevaluation and impact analysis could be performed once she had dealt with Aang's problem. "Then let my husband go, because the only other outcomes to this are either my death or yours. Along with however many other deaths accumulate on the way. Aang is _mine._ Not yours. Not anymore."

Zuko gave a slow nod. "Guards, free the Avatar."

Two of the Crimson Guard came from the wings of the throne room to kneel on either side of Aang and take off his chains. Aang himself didn't react, not even when they stepped away and left him unencumbered on the floor.

Azula growled in her throat and grabbed Aang's arms to yank him to his feet. He rose easily, and let himself be guided out of the throne room.

Before Azula passed through the curtain, she turned back to Zuko and bowed her head with perfectly precise deference. "We are grateful for your mercy, my lord brother. Long may you live and rule."

She didn't stay long to see if Zuko had a response.

Azula hurried Aang through the halls of the palace, past staring soldiers and whispering servants. Azula spotted Kiyi loitering near one of the main staircases, and the child's eyes went wide, but Azula didn't stop or speak. The mouse of a girl had served her purpose, and if Aang wanted to give her more attention, he could snap out of his funk and do it himself.

At last, Azula got her husband back to her suite.

It had been a while since she had brought him here. They took their shared dinners in his rooms, since that was where he kept the spy reports he stole from Zuko and Mai.

It had been in this parlor that they had been married.

Azula sat Aang down one of the couches. "Do you need a healer? Or a Sage?"

Aang finally opened his eyes. "No." His voice was flat, so lacking in life that Azula almost didn't recognize it. "I'm not hurt."

Azula frowned. "What about this 'Avatar State?' That's what Zuko called it."

Aang sighed. "I'm fine now. It was my Avatar Spirit. I lose control of it when I-" He shut his eyes again, and a pair of tears rolled down his cheeks. "That man had Appa's pelt." His voice was twisted now, on the verge of a sob. "I left him behind to get medicine, but Zuko captured me, and- and-"

Azula dropped to his side, possibilities running through her mind as to how to comfort him. If he destroyed whole warehouses districts over this much sadness, she needed a way to deflect his emotional tumble, but she didn't know very much about that kind of thing. She tried to remember what Ty Lee had done for Mai whenever tears were being shed, and wound up rubbing Aang's back and cooing, "It's okay. It's okay."

She felt ridiculous. It obviously wasn't okay. This was the problem with lies; anyone with any intelligence could see through them.

Aang, though, sucked in a breath. His voice was flat again when he said, "I failed my best friend."

Azula continued rubbing his back, and wondered when it would be appropriate to stop. "What do you want to do? I could arrange a place for him in the Garden of Tranquil Souls. Or- it was a sky bison, yes? An Airbender? It might merit a place in the Temple's Dragonbone Catacombs."

"No, I-" Aang shuddered. "That doesn't matter. I just- it's wrong, but I- the people who- who made that pelt- they must- they have to be out there, still. Someone- someone _hurt_ Appa-"

Azula bit back a smile and took her hand off her husband's back. Now, _this_ she knew how to handle. "I will find them. I can promise you that they'll regret it."

Aang opened his eyes again and met her gaze. "It's wrong."

"It's what you want."

Aang shuddered again. "It is."

Azula leaned closer to him. "But I need you to say it. I won't let you throw this back at me someday. I'm offering to help you satisfy this Blood Debt. You are asking me to hurt these people. To kill them." She couldn't help but remember their wedding night, when he threw her gift of Zhao's life back in her face.

Aang was very still for a long moment, his eyes dull and unfocused.

Then his gaze sharpened, he met her eyes, and nodded. "I am. I want you to do this for me. They deserve it."

Azula gave him her softest, most honest smile, the one she had reserved for Father. "Okay. You don't need to worry about it anymore."

Then she leaned forward and kissed him.

His lips were so very warm on her own.

* * *

For a while, Aang thought he dreamed the conversation with Azula. He had woken up the next morning with only half-remembered bits of it in his head and the taste of Azula on his lips, but he couldn't remember either the actual words or the kiss.

Appa's fate also seemed like something out of a nightmare.

Hunted.

Killed.

Skinned.

The very thought sent Aang racing for a basin, and he hadn't been able to eat breakfast afterward.

He was careful not to think about it again, but it still lurked in the back of his mind, a tightness in his chest that threatened to burst with the power to destroy the entire Caldera. The best preventative, he knew, was people. But when he made time to see Kiyi, catching her carry some laundry back to Mai's room, she looked at him with sad eyes and burst out with, "Are you okay? I told the Princess Azula they put you in chains and she got _so_ mad and even when you weren't in chains anymore she looked at me really mean and I'm sorry if I did something wrong!"

Aang waved his hands in what he hoped was a calming gesture. "I'm okay! And you did fine! It's good that you told Azula. It was- there was a misunderstanding, and she was able to fix everything up. If there's ever a problem with me and I look like I need help, it's absolutely okay for you to go to Azula. I'll make sure of it."

Kiyi shifted the folded robes in her hands. "She's not mad at me?"

"No! Azula was just upset about what happened, and it made her cranky. She's kind of cranky all the time. But she's actually thankful for what you did." Aang figured it was close enough to the truth.

Kiyi smiled. "Oh. Thank you for telling me. And you're sure you're okay?"

Aang nodded. "I'm- I'm a little tired from everything, but I'm fine."

"Tired? I- I was hoping maybe we could practice some Firebending together, later."

"That's a good idea." Aang made a show of stretching his arms. "I'm the kind of tired that needs some exercise to fix, instead of sleep. You know, feeling slow and sleepy until you get your body moving again?"

Kiyi's expression slowly lightened. "I guess. Yeah, I've felt like that sometimes. Okay, I'll see you later for practice! Out in the park?"

But when the time came, Kiyi did not come alone.

Mai was with her.

Zuko's wife.

Aang must have been staring with shock, because Mai quirked an eyebrow at him as she spread a blanket out on the grass and said, "Kiyi isn't allowed to abandon her duties to me just to go play with friends. So I am coming to the park to enjoy nature or whatever, and you both are going to entertain me with a demonstration of Firebending."

Kiyi nodded enthusiastically enough to shake her whole form. "Mai- uh, Lady Mai wanted to help."

Aang couldn't fathom why. Mai had barely paid attention to him since the wedding to Azula, and she had been nothing but unpleasant in their few moments of forced interaction. She hadn't even seemed to care about the whole thing with her brother's kidnapping.

Mai sprawled down on the blanket and closed her eyes.

Maybe there was more to her than she was letting on.

Aang hoped it was in a good way.

But at least it let him enjoy some time focusing on his Bending, and interacting with one of the few truly happy and optimistic people in the Fire Nation's capital.

* * *

His name was Maliq. He had been born in the Northern Water Tribe and educated in Ba Sing Se. Arranging an appointment with him was a simple matter of contacting Ba Sing Se University, passing a note through the administration there, and then arranging to bring him to the Fire Nation for a professional consultation.

Azula met Maliq in a rented office in Lower Harbor City, not far from the military's Central Command building.

"How may I be of service," he began as he sat down and placed a thin suitcase on the desk in front of him, "your highness?" His glasses glinted in the light of the sun that streamed in through the window.

Azula gave him her most pleasant smile. "I wanted to inquire about a device I believe you made on commission. Governor Chunhua was receiving reports of an actual living sky bison eating the crops of tenant farmers in her lands, and you provided a solution?"

Maliq grinned. "I did indeed! There were plenty of hunters willing to try for the bounty, but the problem was catching the creature when its flight abilities allowed it to retreat from an engagement with such speed and agility! So I adapted the latest engine technology into a vehicle that a single driver could operate, along with a harpoon weapon similar to that used by Navy vessels for w-"

"Yes," Azula interrupted. "And it worked quite well, as I understand it. Hunter- yes, it was Hunter Utor, wasn't it, who used one of your vehicles to finally hunt down and kill the bison?"

Maliq nodded, confirming her research, and opened his briefcase. "I have the schematics here as an example of my work, if you wish to review them. From what I was told, Utor chased the sky bison for almost forty hours, wearying the creature and then finally harpooning it when it could no longer maintain a high altitude." He passed over a stack of papers.

Azula took and examined them with real curiosity. The device in question was a smooth assembly, its gears hidden behind protective panels, and she recognized the engine as being similar to output from the Northern Air Temple's think tank. The harpoon was indeed just a scaled-down version of what every Navy vessel had amongst its armaments. It seemed to be good engineering work, but nothing revolutionary.

She nodded. "This settles it. I think we can do business."

Maliq leaned forward with bright eyes. "You wish to commission something?"

Azula made an effort to hold back her laughter. "I do. I wish to commission your death."

He blinked. "My- my d-"

Then she grabbed his throat, thought of Aang, and let her Inner Fire flare.

It was a good thing she rented the offices on either side of this one, as well. The smell might have disturbed someone.

Part of the blood debt was paid.

* * *

Aang barely saw Azula as the weeks went on. This was not unusual, as they didn't involve each other in all of their own projects, and sometimes those projects interfered with their usual dinner meetings. Azula seemed to writing and sending out a lot of letters, and she apparently didn't feel a need to let Aang know what they were for.

So he was left to take dinner with the rest of his family.

These gatherings were better than his last attempts. Mai attended a few of them, which meant Kiyi was on hand, and in addition to Noriko, her husband Noren joined Zuko for the meals.

At their first dinner together, Noren sought Aang's attention and said, "So, Avatar, are you a fan of theater?"

Aang had to shrug. "I've had fun seeing a few shows, but never really had opportunities to watch the real thing on a permanent stage." He was grateful for his own ignorance, grateful they weren't talking about something that could evoke memories of Appa.

Maybe Noren did it on purpose.

"Ah!" Noren threw a glance at his wife. "Then you've been missing out. Theater is the richest avenue through which we pass stories, and stories the sustenance of the spirit itself. There's a stage in Lower Harbor City with a good troupe, if you care to partake?"

Aang smiled. "Sounds good to me. What shows do they put on?"

"Well, they're preparing to produce a script that I happen to have adapted myself from an old legend about the Agni Warrior..."

Aang leaned forward with interest as Noren talked on about the upcoming play.

He was barely aware of Azula coming in and telling Zuko that she would be away on Siwang Island for a few days.

* * *

Utor did not know that Azula would be meeting him on Siwang. He thought he was being summoned to Meidifang to be offered a bounty, with his travel expenses, including the ferry ride connecting the islands, being paid ahead of him.

Ambushing a former soldier in an office seemed incongruous.

And so Azula waited atop a cliff, looking down on the road Utor would need to take to get to the ferry to Meidifang. Above her, dark storm-clouds made the day almost as dark as night, and winds battered at her robes and hair.

Did the air act on the true will of the last Airbender? Or was she simply being overly dramatic again?

Below, a komodo rhino raced down the road, leaving a trail of flying dust that the winds quickly scattered. Azula raised her spyglass to examine the rider, and found him to be a massive man wearing the headgear of a trainee soldier. His bare arms were notable for their inflated muscles and the tattoo of a red dragon that stretched across them.

Above, the storm-clouds rumbled, a promise of distant lightning.

Azula had always been good at lightning. Father had taught her how to do it, and while she wasn't as quick or proficient as he was, she had taken to the technique quick enough to please him. Sages and Masters had called her prodigy. (Again.) She always found it a simple matter to simply not feel, to empty her mind and body of anything resembling emotion even as she manipulated the energies that coursed through her.

But now she kept thinking of Aang, even when she just wanted to concentrate on this cold-blooded murder.

Utor was passing her position, now.

Azula went into the form, moving her arms in a circular motion as she separated the Yin and Yang of herself and held them apart until she thrust out her arm, two fingers pointing down towards the slayer of the last sky bison, defining the path that her electricity could take down to the ground.

Azula thought of Aang just as the Yin and Yang smashed back together.

There was the usual thunder, the usual light and heat and roar of power.

This time, though, there was also a pop, and Azula was knocked off her feet but some kind of feedback. She quickly scrambled back up, feeling her hair standing on end.

Down below, Utor and his rhino were a pair of charred messes.

Not perfect.

But good enough.

The clouds opened up and let loose with a downpour.

* * *

Aang was about to go to bed for the night when there was a knock on the door of his suite. He had every intention of answering it, but before he could take two steps, Azula went ahead and let herself in.

Aang wasn't sure he had ever seen her wait for someone to let her in.

She certainly showed no such hesitation now. She stalked right over to him, grabbed his hands, and led him over to the table where they usually shared their dinners. She pushed him to sit down in one of the couches, and then went around to the other side of the table and kneeled on the floor.

Aang blinked at her. "What's going on?"

From her belt, she took out a cracked pair of glasses, the glass smudged with brown marks that could have been left by flames, and put them down on the table. Then she produced a ragged piece of what seemed to be some kind of head-gear, red with a triangular fire sigil on it, the edges blackened and melted. That, too, came to a rest on the table.

At last, she put down a piece of paper torn from one of the newsletters that were regularly distributed throughout the Capital. The paper was completely free of burn marks, unlike the other two items, leaving the news item easy to read and just as ominous: 'Governor Chunhua of Shiwu Colony Reported Dead.'

Aang looked up to his wife.

She nodded. "Governor Chunhua contracted Maliq of the Northern Water Tribe to build a weapon, which was used by an ex-soldier named Utor to hunt down the sky bison whose pelt was acquired by Itsuo of Chung-Ling. I arranged Chunhua's death through the same channels I used for Zhao. Maliq and Utor are dead by my hand. You did not ask for Itsuo's death, so I have left him learning to live without the use of his legs. I have done as you asked."

Aang winced, no longer able to deny the memory of that night in his wife's rooms.

Azula went on, "Your sky bison has been avenged with blood."

"Appa," Aang gasped. "His name was Appa."

"Appa." It sounded so odd in Azula's voice, but she spoke it with unexpected warmth. "Appa is avenged by my hand."

Aang squeezed his eyes shut against the tears the started to flow.

He heard Azula move, and her face came down from above him. "I know you don't appreciate this, but you asked for it, and so I have given it. I know you think I'm a monster for doing it. For enjoying it." There was a challenge in her tone.

But Aang could only shake his head. "I don't think that."

"You do."

"No." Aang wiped at his eyes and looked up at his wife. "I think _I'm_ the monster for asking you do it. I knew you would. I knew it, but- but I just wanted them to hurt! To- to not be able to be able to hurt anything else again! But- but- but I'm just like them, and-" He felt the pressure in his body again, the singing in his veins, and worried that he was about to kill everyone in the palace-

Azula's warms hands cupped his cheeks.

He looked into her face to find her expression twisted with an emotion he didn't recognize on her. She held him, looked at him, and then climbed down onto the couch next to him and curled herself around him. Her head rested against his.

"We're _all_ monsters," she whispered. "The worst of us are the ones who pretend they're not."

Aang wanted to deny it, to tell her that there was real goodness in this world and real people who served it. He remembered Katara, and Sokka, and Gyatso. But he also remembered how he selfishly ran away from his duty as the Avatar, and let the world fall into a century of war. How many had Azula killed, compared to that?

He wasn't fooled that she was good, or that the count of killings somehow made her better than him.

But he had asked her to take lives for him. Even after he despised her for it on their wedding night.

And here she was, doing as he asked, even though she expected to be hated for it. Why?

He didn't know.

But it didn't matter.

She was here. She was with him. And they deserved each other.

Aang cried until he had no more tears to give, and then kissed his wife with the passion of a thousand lifetimes.

 **AND THUS THE AVATAR AND THE FIRE PRINCESS SEALED THEIR UNION WITH BLOOD**


	5. Two Sides of the Same Coin

**Part 5 – Two Sides of the Same Coin**

"So," Azula said, "why exactly do you want to kill my husband?"

It was the dankest of the cells in the Capital City Prison, despite being situated on the top level. Something about the stone that made up its floor and walls and ceiling seemed to sap the moisture out of the air, cool it, and drip it in fetid form.

The last time Azula had been in such a cell, it had been Aang's, the special one in the deepest sub-basement. Before she had set foot there, though, she had sent servants ahead to decorate and furnish it into a little palace for her marriage proposal. This time, she was here with nothing but her wits. A matter related to Aang had brought her back to this prison, and once again the person she had come to see was surprising her.

The man sitting behind the bars didn't look like an assassin. He was old, for one thing, although his exact age was difficult to determine behind that massive, fluffy white beard. He was thin and wiry, and his eyes were bright and curious against his dark sin, and sitting comfortably in a lotus position.

He was also smiling at her with the openness of a child. "Hello! Thank you for coming to visit me." He bowed his head, and then looked up with raised eyebrows. "But I fear that there is a misunderstanding. Tell me, why do you think I want to hurt your husband?"

Azula took a deep breath and used it to feed her Inner Fire, warming herself against the gloom. "The report of your arrest said that you were insistent on seeing the Avatar."

The prisoner chuckled. "And that is enough to make people fear for their lives? The Fire Nation must be a very unfriendly place."

"It is." Azula took a step forward closer to the bars of the man's cage. She had no fear of him. "Especially so for the Avatar. He has few friends here, and his 'relationship' with the Fire Lord makes for high tensions. To show up at the Caldera Gates claiming you need to see him, dressed like a beggar, is practically a crime unto itself."

"I see." The prisoner gave a nod. "I thank you for the insight. Perhaps next time I will attempt a more subtle approach."

Azula didn't like it when prisoners in inescapable cells acted confident. "That's assuming there will be a 'next time' for you. I still haven't decided whether I should let you live."

"Oh?" His expression was one of polite interest. "And why would you be considering my death? I thought we were getting on quite well."

She couldn't hold back a smile. "Amazingly, we actually are. But I'm still likely to kill you, or at least order your death. Whether or not you're an assassin, I still think I should protect my husband against you. You strike me as the dangerous type."

"Your husband is the Avatar?"

Azula made an exaggerated bow. "I have that honor."

"Well, then you should not kill me because I have come to help your husband. A good spouse allows her husband to be helped, and I am sure that you are quite good to him."

Azula's amusement with this whole conversation burned and turned to dust in an instant. "I am so _thankful_ for your judgement."

The prisoner said nothing.

Azula gave herself another boost of warmth. This cell was quite uncomfortable. "And what help, exactly, have you come to offer?"

"Ah." He frowned behind the fluff of his beard. "That might be difficult to explain. I had a vision, many years ago, that the young Avatar would need my guidance. I was a spiritual brother of his people, the Air Nomads."

Azula exhaled a warm breath, producing a wisp of steam. So that was why the conversation was so odd, and yet so easy for her; it was the same kind of verbal pacifism that Aang liked to bring to confrontations. "Well, I'm afraid you're too late, and it might be best to just kill you before my husband finds out."

He looked at her with eyes so deep that they might have been tunnels straight out of this prison. "And why is that?"

Azula shrugged. "I'm fairly certain I'm not married to an Air Nomad, anymore."

* * *

She hadn't realized it for a while, to her embarrassment. The signs didn't come together for her until he stopped shaving his head.

She broached the topic during dinner one day. "Zuko is probably lying awake every night, trying to figure out if you're planning something against him."

Aang had startled at that, over on the other couch, dropping a bit of cabbage from his chopsticks before he could take a bite. "W- why do you say that?"

Azula leaned forward and gave him her playful smile. "Well, Zuzu has never handled change well, and the sight of hair growing on your head is far from what he is used to. Who knows what doom it portends?"

Aang relaxed and recaptured his cabbage. "And what about you? Does a little hair have you worried, too?"

"Of course not." Azula popped a piece of pork-chicken into her mouth, and looked at her husband as she chewed. "I think it looks nice. Very fashionable. Hair is fashionable, I mean, and your hair is nice hair. It's short, though. But that will change. If you let it." She frowned at her own inability to get the compliment to render. She didn't usually have trouble translating thoughts into words.

Aang had laughed. "Are you saying I'm handsome?"

Azula considered it. She had never used the word in such a way before. She had called certain classes of warships handsome, and some buildings, and quite a few weapons. She looked at her husband, considered the meaning of the word, and had to nod. "Yes. That's a good descriptor. Hair fits together with the rest of you. You look handsome with it."

He eyed her as if waiting for a punchline. "And I didn't before?"

She once again evaluated before speaking. "The blue tattoos were more of an acquired taste, but as disgusting as they were at first, they were still a testament to your strength. In that way, you were quite handsome."

He rolled his eyes. "I guess I'll take that."

She didn't know why he was pretending to be offended. If he didn't want to seem disgusting, he shouldn't have gotten blue tattoos all over his body. "So why _are_ you growing your hair? You want more people to think you're handsome?" She smiled, expecting him to offer a rejoinder.

Instead, he had slumped in his seat.

And Azula lost her smile.

Eventually, Aang said, "There just didn't seem to be much of a point to shaving my head, anymore."

It didn't take long for the implications to sink in, but it took quite a while before Azula could even identify her own confusion about how to take them. Aang didn't consider himself an Air Nomad anymore, not after accepting and fulfilling the Blood Debt to his sky bison- to Appa.

Was Azula supposed to be pleased at that?

Worried?

She wished Father was around to tell her.

* * *

The prisoner nodded. If he felt any surprise at Azula's pronouncement, he didn't show it. "I am afraid that I am not familiar with your ways, but I do not see why that should be a reason to kill me. My apologies."

Azula didn't find that funny, but it seemed like it should be, so she forced something almost like a laugh. "If Aang is no longer an Air Nomad, why should I let one of their sycophants meet with him? You would probably just confuse him, or cause him distress. Or maybe attack him for failing in his vows."

"Oh, dear, I don't think I could attack anyone over something so trivial. And murder is an effective way to avoid confusion?"

"With the right amount of subtlety." Azula took another step towards the bars. "He never has to know you were here."

The prisoner still didn't seem to be taking her seriously; he nodded as if he had been hoping she would say that. "And how did you know about me, if I might ask? I am curious. I know you were not present when I was detained."

Azula hesitated before answering. This seemed like a trick. Questions about the obvious were always tricks. "I might not have the Fire Lord's favor, but I ways of hearing things. Certain people know that matters relating to the Avatar are of keen interest to me."

"But not to the Avatar himself?"

Azula gave a half a shrug. "He is not as- _subtle_ as I am. It is part of what I bring to our partnership."

The prisoner tilted his head. "You refer to your marriage?"

"That, too."

"Ah, so there are many levels to your relationship. It is good that you recognize that."

"Is it?" Azula took a final step forward, close enough to reach through the bars. She expected the smell to be worse, this close to the prisoner, but while his odor (bananas and- perhaps onions?) was different from the dankness of the room, she couldn't say that it was worse. "Your arrogance is quickly becoming tiresome."

He bowed his head yet again. "I apologize. I did not mean to insult you. I was speaking merely of the way we are all connected to each other. The closer people become, the more substantial the binding between them. They are like roads, wide enough to allow travel in both directions."

He spread his arms out in demonstration of his metaphor. "But our deepest relationships are not that simple. Rather than a single road, they are like a network of trails and highways. So much flows back and forth along those paths, each one allowing for a different kind of travel. You and the Avatar, I am sure, have as many paths connecting you as Ba Sing Se has to this very city here."

Azula stepped back from the bars.

It sounded very logical. His metaphor about roads made the concept quite simple to understand. But she didn't like the level of complexity that was being applied. So many paths would be difficult to control; that was why there was such a thing as smugglers and pirates. The very thought that her attempts to bring Aang more completely under her control could very well be making that control impossible to achieve-

Azula squeezed her fists together and kept her breathing even. "And that is what you've come to do? Shut down those paths so that he is safe from me? Take him away from me?"

The prisoner smiled at her. "It is a poor traveler who shies away from the roads around him. I think it might be my purpose to teach the Avatar how to get lost on his travels, without losing himself."

Word games. Azula spun on her heel and stalked out of the cell-

-pausing in the doorway and throwing a glance back at her prisoner. "Who are you?"

His voice was even and confident: "I am Guru Pathik, and I have come a long way."

* * *

"Let me see this supposed assassin," she had said to Zuzu earlier, "and I will evaluate the danger to my husband."

When she returned to her brother's office after the interview, he looked at her with as much wariness as he could muster on half a face. "I'm told that the prisoner still lives."

Azula shrugged. "He can't get out. Why sully my hands?" She wasn't sure if she should say anything more, and that uncertainty left her clenching her fists once again. "I don't think he's an assassin."

Zuko raised an eyebrow (he only had one to raise) as he stood up from his desk. This office had once been their father's, of course, and Azula had been in it many times. There were no windows, and when Father worked here, it had been decorated with heavy red curtains that reminded Azula of the flames of the Burning Throne. Even when not at the seat of his power, Father evoked the imagery to give himself strength. Since Zuko had moved in, though, the curtains had been taken away, leaving plenty of room for pacing.

Zuko paced now, in front of a large seascape painting hung on the wall. There were several such art pieces, now, bringing a rainbow of colors into a chamber that had once existed only in shades of black and red.

No doubt it made Zuko weak.

As he paced, he said, "So you think this man is the Avatar's ally. Or wants to be."

"Not in the way you're thinking." Azula turned to look at one of the paintings. It was of an old warship, one of the classics from the beginning of the Hundred Year War, being guided out of a bayside port by a dumpy little tug. "Put simply, he's a harmless old kook who speaks in nothing but philosophy. The most efficient option is to just let him starve, and then clean out the cell after his corpse has stopped stinking."

Zuko stopped his pacing in front of a painting of a mountain overlooking a sea. "You've always been needlessly cruel. I think we will keep this prisoner alive for now. You'll just have to worry about your husband for a little while longer, until I'm sure of your report. Then, rather than killing him, perhaps I will simply banish him from the Fire Nation. A more permanent solution, after that, will be your responsibility."

Azula could have laughed. Zuzu trusted her analysis, but responded in a contrary manner to her suggestion. He even threw on some teasing meant to inflame her worry for her husband.

It was predictable and exactly what Azula wanted, but she couldn't take any real pleasure in it.

How could she tell if she was winning, when she wasn't sure what game they were playing?

She bowed deeply, sweeping her hands out, and lowered her eyes long enough to make herself vulnerable to an attack. "As always, my lord brother is wise and practical. I will report to you if I learn anything new."

* * *

Azula had developed a hunger for the sight of her husband in training.

When he wasn't doing his stupid Firebending faux-lessons with Kiyi, he had taken to using the sparring grounds in the palace's first basement, hidden away from the rest of the Caldera. The first time Azula found him, moving through a form in nothing but a pair of pants, she was struck dumb by the sight:

He was demonstrating _a style she had never seen before!_

She had watched as he moved through the stances, snapped his way through the transitions. Her mind buzzed as she watched him, analyzing each action and developing new fighting strategies to counter the style. And when he finished, she had trotted out onto the grounds, grabbed his arm, and said, "Fight me."

What Aang gave her next was the first combat she had ever experienced against someone who was neither a Firebender nor a practitioner of one of the derivative styles. It turned out that Aang had been using a hand-to-hand form that mixed Water Tribe influence with a unique style from one of the Southern Islands. Her delight must have been evident, because they continued on for several rounds, during which he demonstrated Air Nomad circle-walking, Waterbender-style wrestling, and even a few samples of an advanced Airbending style he barely knew called the Hurricane Lash.

The day after the Guru's arrest, she went down to the training room to observe her husband.

Today, once again, he was moving in ways completely foreign to her. This time, though, his forms were hesitant and clumsy. She found a scroll rolled out on a portable desk at the edge of the sparring circle, and when she went over for a look, she discovered inked illustrations of an Earthbender summoning a piece of stone from the ground.

In the sparring circle, Aang finished the current form to no visible effect, and then slumped down to sit on the ground.

Azula went over and sat down next to him, avoiding contact with his sweaty skin. "You didn't Earthbend."

He groaned. "Yeah, I noticed."

"Why didn't it work?"

He threw a glance at her. "If I could figure that out, I'd probably be able to fix it."

"Not necessarily." She stood up again and dusted herself off. "You know quite a few different styles, but they're all different from what you're trying to do here. I expect that your own instincts and muscle-memory are working against what you are attempting, and if you pay attention, I'm sure the failures will be quite clear."

He snorted. "Well, you're wrong. I don't know what I'm messing up. I guess I'm just stupid that way."

"Hm. Maybe you are." She looked back at the scroll on the desk. "I suppose I don't have anything else to do right now. I can study the form, observe you, and point out all your mistakes."

Aang let himself fall backward to lie on the floor. "I'm on break right now."

"You can't take a break. You haven't gotten it right, yet."

"Break-time, la, la, la."

She considered kicking him in the head. "Where did you get an Earthbending scroll, anyway?"

He lifted a hand and did a little wave, and Azula felt a breeze waft through the room. "I asked Merchant Lee to get one for me. Don't worry; I didn't blow all my allowance on it."

Azula looked back at the scroll. No, she didn't expect that he did. "And just how many have you acquired, by now? I assume you've been collecting Waterbending scrolls, as well."

He didn't say anything.

She went over and kneeled so his head was right between her knees. "I thought you valued my insight."

"I do." His expression was as blank as Mai's always was.

Azula leaned down so that she could stare him right in the eyes. "You can't lie to me. I'm so much better at it than you. I know when you're faking and when what you're giving me is real."

He closed his eyes and sighed. "Maybe I'm trying not to hurt your feelings."

She laughed. "Since when?"

And then he opened his eyes and looked up at her with an expression that Azula hadn't seen since the last time she lost her balance during a Firebending lesson with Father. "Maybe I'm sick of playing your stupid games with your brother instead of actually accomplishing something!"

Azula snapped backwards, falling on her backside. "Games?! I- these are subtle _strategies_ and if we're not careful-"

"I can leave whenever I want!" Aang snapped his legs up in a kick that yanked him to his feet, and he turned to look down at her. "What am I still doing here?!"

"We- you wanted to make the traveling museum-"

"What's the point of that?!" He spun away from her and whipped his arms in a gesture that sent winds swirling through the room. "No one cares about Air Nomads anymore! The Fire Nation won the war and is taking slaves from the other nations, and I'm trying to _correct history books?!_ "

The winds hammered at Azula, and she felt her hair break free of her topknot to whip around freely. Even Aang's hair was long enough now to move with the gusts, giving him an unimaginably wild appearance. Is this what it had looked like when he found his sky bison's pelt? "And what do you think you can do?" An instant after she asked it, the answer came to her. "That Earthbending scroll- Waterbending scrolls- you want to go fight, don't you? Fight some new war!"

The wind instantly died. Aang turned to her with wet eyes. "What else can I do?"

"Not got yourself killed!" Azula stood up, wanting to throw a fireball to show her displeasure, but she held herself back. She would not dignify her husband's childish behavior with more of her own. "Our first priority is always survival. Always."

His face tightened in a wince. "What good is surviving if I waste it? I have to do _something!_ " And with that, he stomped a foot.

And in response, the ground sundered in radiating lines around him.

One of those lines ran right under Azula, and she slid into the gap.

It was a short fall, and it was so unexpected that she was jolting to a stop at the bottom of a waist-high crevasse before she could even think of reacting. Her cheeks warmed in humiliation at being taken off guard like that. She told herself that it was because Aang's sudden proficiency at Earthbending made no sense, and his shift in emotions was bordering on the unhealthy.

It certainly wasn't because she never expected Aang to attack her. Not that this was an attack.

For his part, he was staring around at the damage he'd done in something like horror. Before Azula could wonder how best to use this opportunity to break him psychologically and get him back under control, he turned and ran out of the room, leaving her standing in the floor.

* * *

Azula slammed the door of the cell open, stomped over to the bars, and pointed back the way she came. _"Fix him!"_

Guru Pathik was still sitting in a lotus position. "People are not things that can be fixed. I can only show a more healthy path forward-"

 _"Shut up!"_ She turned and stomped out.

* * *

Aang was hiding in his suite, but from what, he really had no idea.

He needed to continue working on his Earthbending, if he was going to go back to the Earth Kingdom and fight to liberate it from the Fire Nation. But he didn't dare go back down to the sparring room, to the ruptured floor he had torn apart in a burst of anger. He had been out of control, and probably came close to hurting Azula.

She was a killer and a manipulator, petty and cruel, but he hadn't wanted to attack her.

He had made the choice to become the same thing when he asked her to get revenge for Appa. He knew it was wrong, that he had made a terrible choice, even if he had no confidence that he wouldn't make that same choice again.

But now he was lashing out without even thinking about it. He couldn't blame the Avatar State. Maybe the Avatar State had never been at fault, not for the destruction, not for nearly blowing Katara and Sokka off a mountain. Maybe it had been Aang all along.

Maybe he was just awful.

Maybe he shouldn't have survived in captivity, after Zuko brought him to the Fire Nation. Maybe he should have been executed by the Fire Lord, or killed by Zhao. Maybe he shouldn't have even gotten free from that iceberg.

Because it couldn't be right that he, the Avatar, the last Airbender, had come to the Fire Nation, and had been turned into a reflection of its worst parts.

Lying in his bed, he once again wondered about running away to start his own war. If he was out of control like this, he could just end up hurting the people he was trying to save.

He couldn't help thinking of that broken floor, and Azula falling into it.

But if he was going to hurt people anyway, then a war was the only proper place for him.

Eventually, he fell into dreams of Azula riding Appa, and both of them crashing from the sky as soon as he reached out to join them.

When he awoke in the middle of the night to find a beaded necklace on his chest, he wondered if the wall between dreams and reality had faded away. Hanging from the necklace was a wooden token, carved with the elemental sigil of Air- not the swirled single circle of the Nomads, but the three unbound swirls of the element itself.

Gyatso had worn a necklace very similar to this. Aang recognized this one specifically as being among the artifacts stolen by Zuko from the Western Air Temple.

He could think of only one way it could have been placed on his chest. There was only one person, besides Aang and Zuko, who had seen this particular necklace. And Zuko didn't know where Aang had been keeping it, now.

Azula had visited his bedroom.

He turned to the open window, across from his bed, where the curtains were teased by the night breeze.

Pinned down on the windowsill by a chunk of the floor from the sparring room was a piece of paper. Aang got up and retrieved it, finding that it bore a drawing of the Capital City prison and the cliffs that stretched over it. On top of the cliffs, the Air sigil had been drawn.

So Azula wanted him to go to the cliffs over the prison. Why? Why use the Air sigil? Was she trying to draw him into some kind of trap, as revenge for attacking her earlier?

Aang found that he liked that idea. Either it would be the end of him, or the start of his war. Both options had their appeal.

Escaping from the palace no longer required any thought. He didn't have his glider, but mere gates and walls were no obstacle to even a grounded Airbender. His dashes were fast enough to let him run in defiance of gravity, and his jumps could carry him to the rooftops. For the tallest obstacles, his air-scooter could traverse their sides as easily as it could a flat stretch of road.

Beneath the moon and the stars, he made his way to the cliffs outside the Caldera.

Above the prison, he found an old man sitting with his eyes closed under the sky, his body comfortably arranged in a lotus position.

Aang walked up to the man. "Who are you?"

"I am Guru Pathik."

Aang sat down across from the man. "A guru of what?"

"I was a spiritual brother to your people, and a personal friend of Monk Gyatso."

Aang couldn't hold back a gasp. "You- Gyatso-" He shook his head, and bowed his head to the guru. "I am Aang. It is a pleasure to meet you."

"It is a pleasure for me as well, Aang." Guru Pathik finally opened his eyes. "Your wife tells me that you are having a hard time."

Oh, yeah. Aang had forgotten Azula's part in all this. "I'm- I'm surprised that you know her. But I guess I shouldn't be."

"Our first encounter was just the other day." Guru Pathik's head tilted to the side, perhaps in amusement, or maybe just confusion. "She arranged for us to meet much sooner than I expected. And more dramatically, too."

Aang shook his head. "She wants something out of this. She doesn't do anything without some goal in mind. And she's very good at long-term goals."

Guru Pathik nodded. "And it just so happens that my goals and hers align right now. It is very convenient for me!" He chuckled. "And what of your goals, Aang? It would be very nice if all of us want the same thing."

Aang blinked. "I- uh, I want to defeat the Fire Nation. To save the world. But I've messed up so many times now! I got frozen in this iceberg, and I let a war happen for a hundred years before I got out, and then I trusted the wrong guy even though he was wearing a scary goblin mask and got myself captured, and then I married Azula to get uncaptured even though she's probably one of the most awful people alive, and then I- I- I messed up so bad and I'm becoming just like her and Zuko and everyone in the Fire Nation and I need to get out of here and get back to the war but I- but I-" Aang wiped at his stinging eyes. "I know there's a 'but' that should be there."

"Oh my." Pathik's heavy, curved eyebrows were raised high. "You are carrying quite the burden. Or many burdens. But let's go back to the first part. What do you mean by 'defeat the Fire Nation?' What do you really want with that?"

Aang frowned. "Um, keep them from being evil conquerors so that the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribe will be safe?"

"I see. And to do that, you say you need to return to the war. So your goal is to destroy all the soldiers that make up the Fire Nation's army?"

Aang winced at the thought. "I can't do that! Yeah, they're helping to conqueror the world, but-" He shut his eyes against the memory of what he had asked Azula to do to Appa's killers. "I'm responsible for some deaths already. And that didn't help at all."

Pathik scratched his bald head. "It what way did it not help? Do they still hurt others, despite being dead?"

Aang's jaw dropped. This guy was a spiritual brother to the Air Nomads?! "Of course not! But killing doesn't help anything!"

Pathik shook his head. "That is not true at all. All forms of violence can be helpful tools. What I believe you are referring to, though, is that violence has wider repercussions that ultimately do more harm than good."

Aang let out a relieved breath. "Yes! That's what I meant."

Pathik smiled and nodded. "Oh, good. Then I think it's time to talk about how non-violence can be just as harmful."

Aang groaned.

* * *

Azula stifled a yawn, and looked over at the other occupant of Pathik's former cell. "My apologies, but this is likely going to take some time."

Warden Poon grunted.

Azula shrugged. "No, you're right, I'm not actually sorry at all. I was just trying to be polite. Just because I ambushed you, threw you against a wall, tied you up, and gagged you, doesn't mean we can't maintain a minimum of decorum. This isn't personal."

Poon, trussed up like a chicken-pig in the corner with a rag tied over his mouth, managed to look both annoyed and terrified.

The door screeched on its hinges, and Azula snapped into a Firebending stance as it swung open.

Zuko stood silhouetted by the light of the moon, but Azula would always know his shape. His brushed his cape back and strode into the room. "It seems personal to me, Azula. What are you and the Avatar doing with my prisoner?"

Azula did not relax out of her stance. "Borrowing him. I didn't realize you needed him for anything."

Zuko stalked around her to Warden Poon, and leaned over to untie the man. "I don't. But I began to wonder just how serious you were about letting him starve. You should have waited a few days before making your move."

Azula ground her teeth together. Zuzu liked to conduct business in the middle of the night, did he? "The timetable wasn't exactly in my control."

Zuko stood up and stepped back from Poon. The warden scrambled to his feet, and Zuko said, "Get out of here. I'll handle this."

Poon all but ran for the door.

Azula considered using him as a distraction for an attack, but starting a fight wouldn't be to her advantage. She had no doubt that she could beat Zuko, but winning here would just cause more trouble later on. Better to settle things with words. "The prisoner will be back in his cell by dawn."

Zuko crossed his arms. "I'm more concerned by what you need him for. I've _seen_ the Avatar's powers, Azula. Are you trying to put a walking, thinking explosive in my palace?"

Azula snorted. "More like trying to remove one."

Zuko stared at her. His body tensed.

Azula inhaled, letting the air feed her Inner Fire. She picked out an angle of attack based on her observations of her brother's fighting style-

Zuko sighed. "I'm taking charge of the prisoner, as soon as he is returned. It better be by dawn."

Azula relaxed her form, but couldn't stop her teeth from continuing to grind. She'd call this one a draw.

* * *

It seemed to Aang like the conversation was going in circles. He shook his head. "So violence can be helpful but non-violence is better in the long run but both can accomplish things but both can fail to accomplish things? So what am I supposed to do? Was I wrong to ask Azula to kill those people or not?!"

Guru Pathik shrugged. "I favor pacifism, but those are not answers I can provide for you. No one can. They are simply the questions you must ask if you are to find your path."

Aang blinked. "So, you're not going to tell me what to do? Then why are you here?"

"To guide you, Aang." The guru leaned forward. "You are clearly lost. Both within and without. Your experiences have led you to acting in ways you never imagined you were capable of, and now your confusion is driving you even further away from yourself."

Aang felt the need to jump up and pace, but he made himself remain in place. He was a monk; he could make himself stay still when he really needed to. "But who am I? I was a kid when they locked me up, but I was the Avatar, too, and now I'm _married_ and a prince and I still have to save the world, and- and-" He shrugged.

Guru Pathik nodded. "That is the question: Who are you? The answer does not need to be a label, or a description. You can answer it by your actions. And you can decide your actions, if you act with clarity and awareness. Perhaps you are becoming like the people around you, the Fire Nation's rulers. Perhaps you will fight them with their own methods. But you can only do that if you retain your sense of your goal. Is that what you want?"

"I don't." It both hurt and felt good to say it. "I know I don't. But I've already failed."

"Yes!" Guru Pathik actually smiled. "You have. Failure is a part of life. You are good at acknowledging your failures, but not so good, I think, at using them as opportunities to do better! You must look at your failures, and see them as examples of what _not_ to do in the future."

He could list his failures- running away from the Southern Air Temple, trusting the Blue Spirit, giving in to his anger over Appa's death. But was that all of them? "What about Azula?"

"What about her?"

"Was marrying her a mistake?"

"Ah." The guru leaned back and stroked his beard. "I suppose that depends on what your goals are, how you decide you need to pursue them, and what she is to you. Those, again, are questions that you need to ask and then answer with your actions. But be sure that you understand the question to the fullest. I think that the princess has many of the same questions you do, and will have her own range of answers. Some will be the same as yours, and some will be quite different. You will share some goals, but also oppose each other at times. But make no mistake- you are linked, now. She will seek to answer your questions, and you will find yourself compelled to answer hers."

Aang had to chuckle. "This is a lot harder than I ever figured it would be."

Guru Pathik nodded. "That discovery is the beginning of wisdom, and finding your true path. Just because I am a guru and have a great big beard does not mean that it is any easier for me."

Aang laughed.

"So," the guru continued, "we have some time before dawn, yet. I'm sure there are some other things with which I can help you."

* * *

Aang later appreciated how much he learned that night, talking with his last spiritual brother beneath the stars, for he never saw the man again.

"No one," he said a week later, in Azula's suite, "has heard anything?"

Azula was pouting on one of the couches. "Correct, with 'no one' being defined as the frustratingly small number of people who are willing to pass me information. Even my money and the fear I inspire cannot buy everything. Zuko has managed to hide him away quite effectively."

Aang sighed.

Azula looked over at him. "But it's just a matter of time. Zuko can't keep the pressure on about a single prisoner forever, and loyalties will shift as we work to erode his power. As long as this Pathik is alive- and he seems quite capable of surviving, if nothing else- we will eventually find him."

Aang had actually beaten Azula back to the palace after the conversation with the guru, when the dawn came. The rising sun was less kind to sneaking than the night, but his speed and the heights of the city's buildings still offered him a major advantage.

Azula, on the other hand, had been brought back with an escort of Fire Lord Zuko and a dozen members of the Crimson Guard. The bustle had denied Aang the chance to offer his thanks to her for arranging everything, but as time had passed, he began to wonder if thanks were really warranted. "You'd use favors and influence for that? I wouldn't think Guru Pathik would be that important to you."

Azula shrugged. "You needed his help, and you are my most important ally. Of course I'd spend resources on the matter." He saw her eyes narrow, and she added, "And I hate losing to Zuzu. I made mistakes that night, and I will see them corrected."

So she was claiming practicality as her reason. "Well, you're my best ally, too. And thank you, Azula." Aang brought his hands together and bowed formally to her.

She just snorted in response.

He rose and stepped closer to her. "And there's something else you should know. I- I'm also really sorry for what I did to you."

She blinked. "You'll have to narrow it down."

Aang shrugged. "What happened on the sparring grounds. I- I almost hurt you. And you just wanted to talk and help me, but I- I was out of control. I'm sorry for all of that."

"Oh." She looked away, at nothing in particular, it seemed. "Well, I- I suppose the proper response is that your apology is accepted. But don't make a habit of apologizing! People will see it as weakness."

"Right." Perhaps she really meant it, or maybe she was just deflecting out of embarrassment. She deflected a lot, he realized. It was what he did, whenever possible. When not possible, he allowed his emotions to nearly destroy him.

Were her feelings just as dangerous to her?

For all their differences, they were perhaps too similar.

He sat down next to her, careful to maintain some distance. "The guru taught me that I need to decide who I am. And that I need to do it with my actions. And I think the first part of me that I need to decide is the part that is married to you. "

She drew away, straightening her back. "And what, exactly, do you think needs to be decided?"

"How I really feel about you. You've shown how you really feel about me. And that deserves my answer in turn."

She tilted her head. "I was not aware that I demonstrated something so decisively."

He laughed. "Leaving me a trail of symbols to a teacher who could help me with my worst feelings wasn't decisive?"

Her lips quirked in the start of a smile, but she was holding back, he could tell. She was guarded, still, but he could see the vulnerability she was trying to hide. She was always beautiful, but that glimpse of her true self added to it immeasurably.

"That," she said, "was just business."

He smiled back. "I'm saying I don't think it was. And you deserve a sign about me that's just as clear."

"What sign?"

And that's when he kissed her.

It lasted longer than it ever had before, and when they broke apart for air- she gasped through pursed lips while her cheeks burned red- he said, "And that's just the beginning of our path together. If you want to stop walking it with me, at any time, just say so. Starting right now." He kissed her again.

And it lasted even longer.

They spent the rest of the day locked away from the rest of the world, together as husband and wife.

 **AND THUS THE AVATAR AND THE FIRE PRINCESS CHOSE EACH OTHER DECISIVELY**


	6. Caught

**Part 6 – Caught**

Aang looked down at himself and decided that it was time to get his hair trimmed.

His body sat beneath him in the center of the Fire Palace's basement sparring grounds, eyes closed and hands pressed together in meditation. To any observer, it simply would have looked like Aang was concentrating, focusing his mind on spiritual matters that transcended the physical plane. And they wouldn't even be wrong.

But they'd be incorrect in their assumption that Aang's spirit-self was in his body.

Detaching from his body was an interesting experience. He could still see and hear and smell, but his sense of touch was distant, almost to the point of nonexistence. He was 'standing' on the floor right now, but he couldn't actually feel its solidness beneath his boots. As far as he could tell, he might have been standing on a giant pillow or a large hunk of granite. When he reached out his hands to the rest of the room (he didn't dare touch his body just yet), his hands encountered the same sensation- his fingers could not pass through the floor or the walls or the benches, but if he closed his (spirit) eyes he wouldn't have even been able to tell he was in contact with any of it.

Okay.

He wondered if his sense of taste would be the same way, or if it would work just as well as his eyes and ears and nose. But would he be able to pick food up into his mouth? Perhaps in his next session, he'd try setting up a cup of wine for his spirit-self.

With Guru Pathik still hidden away by Fire Lord Zuko, Aang would have to figure this whole thing out on his own.

At least Aang had been able to learn about this much, the spiritual aspect of himself that could transcend the physical and even separate temporarily from his body, during that single night of conversation. The guru had described various ways for Aang to begin learning about the Spirit World, techniques and philosophies of the Air Nomads that every Avatar had to master. He still had a lot of learning to go, but this was a good start.

And learning worked best when it was fun!

Aang decided to explore the palace without his body.

He left it in the middle of the sparring ring, confident that no one would hurt or move him. (One of the perks of being royalty-by-marriage.) He took the stairs up to the ground floor of the palace, finding that stairs were bit trickier without the sensation of a footstep to guide him. Didn't some ghost stories mention spirits being able to float? There were even some Airbender legends about achieving flight without a glider, just like a sky bison.

(He remembered Appa, briefly, and felt the pull of his body. He closed his spirit eyes and emptied his mind, concentrating on the breathing he wasn't sure he was actually doing, and slowly the pull began to fade.)

When he reached the ground floor, he learned that no one could see him. Servants and guards and Zuko's courtiers all walked around without taking any notice of the ghost in their midst, and he could move right up to them and listen to their private conversations. It turned out that fashion, weather, and Zuko's lack of an heir were the most popular topics today.

Aang was tempted to go peek into the throne room itself, but decided against it at this point. It was possible that the room had accumulated its own spiritual nature, being such an important place in history and the modern world, and at one time the Fire Lords had been accomplished sages in their own right. Better to avoid that kind of thing until he knew more about what he was doing. He wouldn't want Zuko to accuse him of hauntings.

Instead, Aang went up another flight stairs to the residential part of the palace.

Naturally, the first person he went to visit was his wife.

Azula was in the library with five different books spread out in front of her on a desk. She was reading what seemed to be the collected essays of some general, her face pinched with a concentration that had to be a kind of meditation. As Aang watched, she frowned, put her book down, and turned to flip through one of the other tomes she had gathered. She must have found what she was looking for, because she put a finger on some bit of text, went back to the original book she was reading, looked again at the text under her finger, and made a noise of displeasure.

Oh. She was cataloguing contradictions in the history books. Again.

He watched as she made a note of the error she had discovered, a smile growing on her face. He reached out with a ghostly hand to caress her cheek.

Unexpectedly, the sensation of warm flesh channeled clearly through his fingers.

Aang gasped and pulled back as Azula herself seemed to startle. Her face grew red, and she looked around in confusion. He thought for a moment that perhaps she would see his spirit form, but eventually she shrugged and went back to her books.

It was then that Aang noticed the ribbon of light that had come out of nowhere to bind their hearts.

It was a strange light, not quite settling on any single color, but rather shifting through green and pink and orange and lots and lots of red, in shades ranging from so light that they might have been white, to darker and muddier tones. Aang had no idea what he was seeing, but the start and end of the ribbon of light was very clear, connecting him and his wife in this spiritual plane.

He couldn't help but think this ribbon had only come into being recently, after he chose to make Azula one of the answers to the questions of his life- that choice and the acts that followed.

This must have been what Guru Pathik had meant during another part of their conversations, that separation is an illusion and everything shares a connection. Some connections are more vivid than others, but nothing is alone.

Aang decided to see what other connections he could explore.

He focused his mind on the ribbon of light between him and his wife, leaving his senses behind. The senses probably weren't real anyway, just memories of his physical form that he was using to process his perceptions of the physical world. He let himself fall into the many-colored light, letting it become his world, and took the memory of the essence of it unto himself.

When he let himself see and hear and smell again, he found more of the ribbons stretching out from him and Azula to other parts of the palace. He didn't hesitate to follow them.

The first connection he found was to Kiyi, who was hurrying up the stairs with a case of polished knives that she was no doubt bringing to Lady Mai. Strangely, Kiyi was the recipient of two of the ribbons of light, one from him and one from Azula, although his wife's was much thinner and lacking in color. Another of Azula's ribbons stretched out ahead of Kiyi, leading up in the same direction she was running, although it ended with a torn tail that flapped in the air. Could that be Azula's broken friendship with Mai?

But Azula had other connections that seemed to be intact, as thin as they were, and as Aang focused on them, he saw that they twisted and tangled with three much brighter ribbons of light that originated at Kiyi's heart. One led back downstairs, spiraling in the direction of the throne room, which had to be Zuko.

Azula was connected to two more people who were important to Kiyi? And Mai's was already accounted for?

He followed both Kiyi and the threads all the way up the palace's tower, past the level where Aang and Azula had their apartments, up to the floor where Zuko lived. Kiyi followed one trail to Mai's rooms, but Aang hung back. There were no trails going to Zuko's suite, which made sense, because he was downstairs. The remaining ribbons of light, Kiyi's and Azula's both, led to the last door on this floor.

Aang didn't need to look inside to know who it belonged to.

Zuko kept his servants, Noriko and Noren, close to him. Kiyi was connected to her parents, of course.

But what was Azula's connection? And why would it be so thin and colorless?

* * *

"Well," his wife answered later, "I do want to kill them."

Aang threw a look across her parlor at her. "That's not a nice thing to joke about."

She shrugged as she took another bite of her dinner on the other couch. "If it helps, they're relatively low priorities, and all my plans for them require Zuko's death first."

Aang knew her well enough that it actually did make him feel better. Although she very much wanted to kill her brother, and Aang would have a hard time mustering up disapproval when the time came, she was well aware that she'd be hard-pressed to get away with it anytime soon. "But you don't want to kill Kiyi."

Azula actually stopped eating as she thought about it. "By herself, she's barely worth insulting, never mind hurting, but if I kill her parents and she knows it's me, then she'll probably grow up wanting revenge. After all, I didn't really desire Zuzu's death until he murdered our father." Her face tightened, but then she let out a breath and got back to eating.

A thought occurred to Aang, although he didn't want to give voice to it. It would hurt his wife, no matter how much she might try to hide it. But if there was a chance it might bring a truce between her and Zuko- "How sure are you that Zuko was really responsible for your father's death?"

Azula went still.

Aang waited for her.

She put her plate on the table and folded her hands in her lap. "Father was in perfect health. He was the greatest Firebender alive, and practiced daily. He was strong. Then Zuko returned with his new pet servants, and one morning a month later my father didn't wake up. He was found cold in his bed. He had no wounds. No damage to his body. No signs of strangulation. His heart had just stopped in his sleep, the doctors said. I-" She didn't say anything for a moment.

Then she got up, crossed the parlor to where Aang was sitting, and curled up against him. She was actually _trembling._ He wrapped his arms around her and held her.

She sometimes sought physical contact like this, nowadays. Aang had learned not to say anything about it.

Eventually, she said, "I don't remember much after that. I- things were busy, and my thoughts moved very quickly. I know Zuko proclaimed that Father's ashes would go to the Garden of Tranquil Souls instead of his rightful place in the Dragonbone Catacombs, but I don't even remember how I heard it. I didn't come back to myself until Mai's husband died the exact same way almost three weeks later."

Aang blinked. "Mai was married before Zuko?"

Azula drew back and nodded. The sharp glint was back in her eyes. "Zuko and Mai had a teenage romance after he returned in triumph with you. It was quite amusing, how they fumbled to show affection through their defenses. But after the war ended with the return of Sozin's Comet, Zuko abruptly went off on a tour of the Fire Nation. He left a _letter_ for Mai telling her not to wait up for him, that he had to see his homeland and find his place in the world. Mai was quite displeased, as you can imagine."

Aang couldn't actually imagine what Mai's displeasure looked like, as she _always_ looked displeased. "So she married someone else?"

"Her parents were quite popular after making Omashu into a jewel of the colonies, and were able to arrange a match to War Minister Qin after the death of his third wife in childbirth. Why he needed a new wife when he already had five offspring, I don't know." She turned to meet Aang's gaze, and then her cheeks colored. "Well, I suppose I can guess. Mai lost much of her good humor, after the wedding."

Aang didn't even want to know what Mai's good humor might look like. "Is that why you two aren't friends anymore?"

Azula scowled. "Why should I have intervened? Mai couldn't even keep Zuzu around. And she was quite capable of leaving, if it was really so awful a fate. Our companion Ty Lee left years ago for the colonies. Mai _stayed._ Everything that happened is her fault."

Aang wondered. He could have left the Fire Nation, too, before it changed him. Perhaps he and Mai had more in common than he thought. "And then Zuko returned and her husband died?"

Azula nodded, leaning forward. "He was discovered in his room one morning, dead, no signs of wounds or poor health. He was no warrior, and quite old, so it would have been believable if Father hadn't just died. And then a week later, Zuzu announced that he would be taking Mai as his wife." Azula leaned back, and her gaze lost focus. "Mai didn't have much of a reaction. She did her public mourning, showed up for the wedding, and moved into the suite next to his. That sprig Kiyi was appointed as her personal Palace Maiden. So you can see, I'm sure, how Zuko profited from two suspicious deaths."

Aang had to nod. "Whether or not he did it personally, there's a good chance he at least knew what was going on. Have you ever tried asking him about it?"

Azula glared at him for a moment. Then she gave a very fake giggle and leaned over to give him a sloppy kiss. As Aang blinked in surprise, she ran her hands through his hair and said, "You're so adorable! Asking me if I ever accused the Fire Lord of withholding information about the death of his predecessor! Me, his sister, asking if he's a kin-slayer? So cute!" She kissed him again and nuzzled her head against his neck.

Well.

Aang had just discovered that cuddling could be sarcastic. "Okay, okay, it was a stupid question."

Azula instantly sobered and sat back against the edge of the couch. "Yes. It was. Any more questions, intelligent or otherwise?"

"Just one." Aang took a steadying breath. "Do you think Noriko or Noren helped Zuko with the murders?"

Azula's lip curved. "Ah, an intelligent question. And no, I do not. I _did_ consider it, at first, but Noren actually gets shaky at the sight of one of Mai's knives, and Noriko has no backbone. They're not killers. Nor did their mouse of a daughter have anything to do with it, either; she's too clumsy to be an assassin."

Well, Aang was relieved to hear that, even if it left them without any answers. Kiyi was his friend, and Noriko and Noren seemed nice enough. "I guess you must have some other connection to them, then. The spirit world and its weird lights don't lie."

"Hm." Azula tapped her chin. "Perhaps we should look deeper into why Zuko leashed these particular peasants as his prized servants. To explore the connections, as you call them."

Aang raised his eyebrows. "Non-violently."

She snorted. "Oh, very well, just this once."

He clapped his hands (sarcastically), dropped a kiss on her nose (sarcastically), and said (sarcastically), "Thank you so much!"

She kissed him back, and what followed was not sarcastic at all.

* * *

Azula planned her ambush from every angle. She stalked dangerous prey, and every precaution would have to be made to ensure both success and survival. As with most ambushes, the most critical component was waiting patiently to spring the trap.

"Hello, Kiyi."

The greeting echoed through the empty servant hall that connected the palace's kitchens to the main pathways, and was followed by the sound of soft shoes skidding on the floor. Kiyi had been carrying a platter of pastries, and her sudden stop nearly unbalanced them. She went through a burst of gangly teenaged fumbling, and sighed with relief when the platter leveled off without losing any of its contents.

Then a tart at the edge tumbled over into the air.

Kiyi cried out.

Azula stepped out of the shadows and easily snatched the tart out of the air.

She held it out to the mousy little servant and smiled. "You almost lost that one."

Kiyi paled. "Princess Azula! I'm sorry! I should have been more careful! I _will_ be more careful!"

Azula placed the tart back on the platter. "I know you will. You work very hard. Are these for Mai?"

"Zuko-" Kiyi bit her lip and took a step back. "The Fire Lord ordered a lunch for the Royal Consort."

Azula tsked. "Mai is refusing to eat again? I'm sorry to hear that. People drag her name through the mud enough over the matter of an heir, never mind these little episodes. Don't worry; I won't mention it to anyone."

Kiyi was not relaxing. "Thanks. Um, did you need anything?"

"Need? No." Azula leaned down so that her face was even with Kiyi's. "But I did want to talk to you. You've been a good friend to my husband."

And the girl- no, she was a teenager, and Azula would do well to remember that- immediately brightened. "Aang's really nice! And he's been all over the world. More place than Zuko, even!"

"Well, it's been very kind of you to make him feel at home, here. And that unfortunate matter when Zuko was angry with him-" Azula turned away and hugged herself as though she needed the comfort.

Her stomach _did_ clench at the memory, calmed by the thought of being in Aang's arms, of the feel of her body entangled with hers, of his heat and hers joining together.

But she hardly needed something as pointless as a fake hug to keep her composure.

"Well," she continued, turning back, "I was too upset to thank you at the time, but I'm very grateful that you came to find me. I know I haven't been a very nice person, especially to you. Aang is showing me that there's a better way."

Azula did not like lies, as they were clumsy, easily deflated things. But sometimes a lie in the right place really was the most efficient solution.

Kiyi eased the platter to the side, removing it as a method of defense, and smiled. "I'm glad. I- I've wanted to get to know you. Everyone says you're smart and the best Firebender, and you always look so pretty!"

Azula thought to what Ty Lee used to do when complimented (before Azula reminded her of proper humility by setting her braid on fire), and put her hands to her cheeks. "Oh, you're so kind! Thank you. You're growing up quite cute, too. I bet people will paint portraits of you, one day!"

"R- really?!"

"Oh, sure!" As if portraits were really painted based on beauty, and not social influence. "And Aang says you're a very good Firebender for your age. You know-" Azula rubbed her chin, as if a thought was just occurring to her, and she wasn't simply moving this conversation along one of several planned paths. "With a _proper_ teacher, I bet you'd be a prodigy."

Kiyi lost a bit of her smile. "Oh, um, Zuko has been giving me lessons-"

"And Zuko has always had a strong focus on the basics," Azula put in quickly and diplomatically. "He wasn't around when our father showed me some of the more interesting styles."

"Zuko says his father was a monster."

It took all of Azula's self-control not to snarl at the hypocrisy. "He was. But he was also a great Firebender." Azula held out a hand, exhaled, and a blue flame burst into being, casting its warmth and harsh light throughout the hallway. "I couldn't have learned this without him."

Kiyi's eyes went wide.

"Or," Azula continued, keeping her voice light, "how to make lightning."

Kiyi tore her eyes away from the flame with obvious effort. "Zuko's tried reading books about how to make lightning."

Azula bit the inside of her lip to keep from grinning. "I know. Maybe you could learn it first, and then show him how. He'd never let me teach him."

Kiyi didn't say anything. She just looked up with an expression of pure desire, of dreams too vague to be wishes now presented as real possibilities.

Azula finally succumbed to the urge to smile.

* * *

Hira'a.

Kiyi and her worthless family were from Hira'a. Noriko and Noren had been the leaders of a local acting troupe, which traveled only to other villages on their small island. Kiyi had done several performances as an extra and could sing like a professional, but she did not really care for life as an actress. The village used to have extensive herbal gardens and a real apothecary that filled orders even to other islands in the Fire Nation, but the gardens had been abandoned. Kiyi liked gardening, and had begun trying to restore the herb growths before Zuko came.

Azula learned all this from their nighttime Firebending lessons.

Getting the information had been easiest part of the whole thing. Azula had to keep the lessons secret, otherwise she was sure Zuko would try to have her skinned, and so she had to wait for Kiyi to finish serving Mai for the day. Azula had warned Kiyi that it probably wasn't a good idea to tell her parents, but hadn't been able to make sure that such security was being maintained.

And the lessons themselves were practically torture! Azula didn't even have to do anything to set Kiyi chattering, but pretending that the mouse was any good at Firebending was truly straining.

It was especially hard for Azula to pretend to be nice.

Her teachers had always emphasized discipline and perfection. Master Kunyo had actually been better at teaching discipline than real fighting technique, before Azula got him sent away, and Father hadn't been tolerant of anything but her greatest, most harrowing efforts.

Azula took most of her inspiration from Aang, holding a smile on her face each time Kiyi tripped and saying, "That's okay, you're getting better!"

It was giving her an upset stomach, doing it night after night. At least Kiyi could already command quite a bit of heat and strength, even if her technique and sense of balance were lacking.

But, most importantly, the information was accumulating.

Azula took what she found out to the palace's library, without success. Hira'a did not figure prominently into the history of the Fire Nation, did not generate enough trade to be worthy of recording in the Fire Lord's books.

"What about," Aang said one night at dinner, "the archives in the Temple?"

Azula snorted. "Really? The Sages don't accumulate anything but the shallowest propaganda. Unless one of my ancestors took a nap in Hira'a at one point or another, the Sages won't have a record. And if they did, it would just be some tale about how Hira'a was made holy ground by the drool of the true Fire Lords and blah blah blah, I'm already bored."

Aang laughed. "Yeah, they have some weird stuff there. But-" He popped a sprout into his mouth and wagged his eyebrows. "According to one of Zuko's intelligence reports a while ago, the Sages receive secret shipments of scrolls. The intelligence ministry's spies couldn't find them in the Temple. They said further investigation was recommended, and then the future reports didn't mention it again."

Really?

Azula hated that she still wasn't allowed direct access to the reports Aang copied from Mai's rooms. He shared what he thought was safe, but perhaps she should use one of their more passionate moments as an opportunity to ask for a chance to do her own reading.

But she already a research project, for now.

It took a week for Azula to discover that the Dragonbone Catacombs beneath the Temple contained more than just the tombs of the Fire Lords. (More than an empty place where Father's ashes should be interred.) Between the late-night Firebending lessons with her new 'friend' and the infiltrations of the temple, Azula was taking to staying up all night and sleeping during the day. But unlocking the Firelatch Gate in the courtyard gave her a new surge of energy; everything in her mind and body told her she was getting closer to answers.

The tombs themselves had histories and journals relevant to each occupant, but there was a sealed storehouse, and one picked lock later she found the true treasure-trove. Amidst the dusty corridors, beneath the looming dragon skulls, and behind a lock any moron with a bit of wire could bypass, the Sages were accumulating blasphemous accounts of the Fire Nation's history with Spirits.

There were accounts of things with names like Oiwa, the Hungry Five, Mog Wai, the Kemurikage, Dragon-Tongue the Searer of Kings, the Ba Jiao Gui, Aka Manto, the Jackalman, and Mae Naak.

And then Azula discovered the ghost stories about Hira'a.

The Scribe of the Eight Great Travelers wrote an account that began, "We were on approach to a small village where we could resupply, called Hira'a on the map, when we were attacked by the Glaring Wolf. Tomoko was the first to see it, but whether that came from her special perception or simply a better vantage was a matter of later debate. The wolf was as large as a dragon, but had no physical substance. Nevertheless, its attacks nearly laid us low until a warrior in a mask intervened, working with our mighty Guanyu to drive the beast away.

"We shared dinner with the warrior," the writing continued, "who removed his mask to reveal a face marred by the shape of a burning hand. The warrior explained that his destination was the Forgetful Valley, not far from Hira'a, where it is said that a Spirit visits at certain times and will grant a new face to one who finds it. The wolf spirit, named the Glaring Wolf for the expressive design on its coat, is the first sign of the greater spirit's coming.

"The next day, the warrior took us to the entrance of Forgetful Valley and showed us the other signs, patterns on the plants and creatures of the forest there, all of which formed stylized faces of various kinds. Guanyu wished to continue with the scarred warrior, to assist him in his quest, but Tomoko claimed an ill omen was over the valley, and in a vote the majority of our party sided with her. We continued on to Hira'a and I partook of a new kind of tea, the leaves of which I have drawn below."

Beneath the pointless drawing were notes that copies of this account had been made by the Scribe's own hand and sent to friends in Ba Sing Se and the Northern Water Tribe.

Azula sat down in the dust of the catacomb and thought on this. So a Spirit near Hira'a could grant new faces to people. She immediately wondered if her brother had been replaced by an imposter, but quickly dismissed the notion. Zuko was different than he had been, but there was still so much that Azula recognized in him from throughout her whole life. No one could do petulance quite like Zuzu.

But what of these servants of his? Perhaps Noren was not the simple actor he claimed to be, but an assassin wearing the face of weaker man.

An idea occurred to her about how she could find out.

A dawn visit to Lower Harbor City's drama theater revealed that there was actually such a (part-time) profession as a drama historian, and he was only too happy to accept a royal commission to travel to Hira'a and research the past members of the troupe there.

* * *

Aang was so pleased to not only see his wife again, but to find her looking healthy and well-rested, that he set aside his worry about her investigations.

He brought her dinner plate to her and presented it with a bow. "You're looking good."

Azula accepted the plate and raised her eyebrows. "You say that as if it's ever not the case. And as if you aren't one of the most fervent believers in my divine beauty."

Aang decided to risk believing that his marriage to Azula could withstand a little criticism. "You were looking a bit- um, strained- for a while there."

Azula, thankfully, just gave a little snort instead of attacking him. "Clearly, I need a new servant to apply my cosmetics. A makeup-girl who can't conceal signs of treasonous midnight excursions is a makeup-girl who can get me killed."

Aang allowed himself to be amazed that he had been married for over a year and still was learning new things about womanhood. "So did you actually find something?" He sat down on the other couch and began digging into his rice.

Azula was quiet for a moment as she worked at her dinner. "I might have. It's rather- _fantastic._ To the point where I hesitate to share it yet. Throwing around such theories without proof would have people questioning my sanity."

"As fantastic as a boy who slept in an iceberg for a hundred years and wound up marrying a princess?" Aang chuckled.

Azula nodded vigorously. "Yes, exactly that fantastic. I know people here in the city who are convinced you're just a refugee from a hidden Airbender enclave, and that the Avatar Cycle has fully circled back around since the beginning of the war."

"Huh." Aang was learning all kinds of new things today. "Okay, but _I_ believe the whole iceberg thing, so I think I'd be okay to hear your story?"

Azula grinned and shook her chopsticks at him. "Ah, why ruin the drama? My agent returned to the Capital today, and I'll be meeting with him right after dinner. If things go well, I'll come back to your suite and we can _celebrate_ tonight. And if not-"

"If not, you can come to my suite anyway, and I'll _console_ you." Aang smirked at her and stuffed some more rice in his mouth.

"Hmmmm." She leaned forward brushed her spear-like bangs to either side of her face. "I see I've finally taught you the concept of a win-win scenario. Perhaps later I'll show you some of the things you've taught me."

And so Aang's very last dinner with his wife in the palace passed pleasantly. Azula went on to her meeting with her 'agent,' while Aang decided to get some fresh air and watch the sun set from the top of the palace's tower.

On the way back to his rooms, he passed Kiyi, who barely managed to call out a greeting before she eagerly skipped along on some errand.

He was too distracted by thoughts of his wife to wonder about it.

* * *

"Azula?" Kiyi's voice rang out through the darkened sparring room, hours after Azula's meeting with her agent. "Big Sister?"

Hidden in the dark, Azula winced. The little sprig had taken to calling her that, a sign of respect when Azula had refused the title of teacher. Now, given what she had learned, it seemed like the worst kind of taunt.

Sister.

Sisters.

Sisters and mothers and _treason._

Azula's whole body was itching, and she wanted to scratch and scratch until she had torn away all her skin. But even that wouldn't stop the thoughts bouncing through her head, the recriminations that were building up in her skull and threatening to burst out when the pressure reached a critical threshold.

Kiyi said, "Hello?"

Sisters and mothers.

How could Azula have been so wrong? About 'Noriko,' about Zuzu, about Father, and- and- and-

She had been wrong about herself, too.

So much failure. Azula clenched her jaw against a rising sob. She couldn't fall apart now. She had to fix this. She had to avenge her father. She had to prove herself. She had to be strong.

Kiyi called out, "Was the lesson canceled?"

Azula raised a hand in front of her chest and called a flame into being, just as she had at the meeting with her agent. Unlike at that meeting, Azula didn't do anything with the flame but let its illumination reveal her face.

Kiyi screamed.

Sisters and mothers.

Azula itched all over.

When Kiyi recovered her breath, she giggled. "Oh, Azula! With the blue and the shadows on your face, you looked like a ghost!" She giggled again.

Azula looked over at her 'student.'

She had to avenge Father.

In the dull light, she could just barely make out Kiyi tilting her head. "Is everything okay, Big Sister?"

All of the sudden, Azula saw the humor in it. All this time, she had ignored the clues right under her nose, having to extend her search all the way across the Fire Nation just to hear the name 'Ursa' again. She laughed, letting it energize her flames to fill the whole sparring room with her unique blue glow. She laughed until tears streamed from her eyes, and her throat went raw enough to make it sound like she was sobbing.

But she couldn't be crying. She had to be perfect for Father.

When she was finally able to stop, she saw Kiyi once again staring with trepidation. The girl said, "Um, what's so funny?"

Sisters and mothers.

Azula let her flame go out, plunging the room into darkness again. "Let me tell you a little joke- or, even better, you're going to help me tell our whole family!"

By the time Kiyi summoned her own flame to see by, Azula's hands were already reaching out to grab her.

* * *

Aang was prepared for his wife to be upset when she showed up at his suite, but the sound of his door being blown to pieces nearly startled him out of his skin and told him that things were far worse than he was expecting.

He ran out of his bedroom and into the parlor to find Fire Lord Zuko standing there with smoking fists.

"Avatar!"

Aang decided that this wasn't a good time to be difficult. He bowed. "Your majesty?"

 _"Where is Azula?!"_

Uh oh. "I haven't seen her since dinner in her rooms."

Zuko's lips pulled back from his teeth and he stepped forward with a snarl.

And that's when Noriko pushed past Zuko to fall on her knees at Aang's feet. "Please, Avatar! Kiyi says that you're her friend!"

Zuko reluctantly stepped aside as Noren came into the room as well. The man's gaze wandered the room without focusing on anything, as if he wasn't quite awake.

Aang looked down at Noriko. "Kiyi? What does she-"

Noriko shoved a paper at him.

Aang's heart fell when he recognized Azula's brushwork. His stomach clenched when he saw how uncharacteristically sloppy it was.

He guessed that her meeting with her 'agent' didn't go well at all. But what could push her into moving so overtly against Zuko?

Then he read the message:

"I've taken her to meet Father."

And Aang grew afraid.

Noriko must have been something in his face, because she grabbed at his hands. "What is it? Where is Kiyi?"

Aang took a deep breath. "Azula is- very put out that Ozai's ashes aren't in the Dragonbone Catacombs."

Zuko's eyes went wide. "The Garden of Tranquil Souls!" He turned and rushed out of the suite, his cape flapping behind him. Noriko was soon following, grabbing Noren to drag him along.

Aang didn't hesitate to join them.

It was a rush through the palace, through halls that Aang couldn't keep track of and down stairwells that he didn't recognize. His new Earthbending skill told him that they had passed underground. They seemed to go a long way, but to Aang it all passed in a blur until they came to a final set of stairs leading up.

They burst through a doorway into a forest of standing stones beneath a starry sky.

The group came to a stop, and Aang looked around, trying to get his bearings. It took him a moment in the moonless night to tell what the surrounding stones were, but then he recognized them as memorials for the dead, homages to lifeless piles of ashes.

This must be the Garden of Tranquil Souls, the final resting place for the members of the Royal Family. As a prince and Azula's husband, Aang himself had the right to have his body or ashes laid to rest here.

He shuddered. He had never been comfortable in graveyards. Ashes should be left free to travel with the winds.

"I got it," Zuko called out. "Father's crypt is this way!" He took off in a run again, leading the way around the grave markers, over the rolling hills.

Aang groaned as he ran. What had Azula done?

At last they came to Ozai's final resting place. The shattered remnants of a massive stone slab were strewn on the grass, and Aang wondered how far away this 'Garden' must be, that no one would have heard the thunder. Zuko plunged down the stairs that had been exposed, followed by Noriko and Noren, and as Aang passed underground again behind them, he heard the distinct sound of a roaring fire echoing from ahead.

There was a blue glow at the end of the narrow stone hallway.

Kiyi-

The group burst into the chamber to find a line of burning branches separating them from the far side of the room, the flames a bright blue that proclaimed Azula's control. Beyond them, Kiyi was laying tied up on a stone table, her eyes wide and a gag covering her mouth. A golden box- no doubt containing the previous Fire Lord's ashes- sat in front of her.

And then Azula stepped out from behind the table. "Ah, the whole family is here! Good." She leaned against the tables, summoning a flame in her hand and holding it near Kiyi's head.

Zuko raised his fists. "Azula! Hurt the child and I'll kill you myself!"

"Yes, you'd probably enjoy that, wouldn't you?" Azula moved her burning hand back a bit, but it would still be an easy grab to Kiyi's face. Aang tensed, taking an Airbending stance that would let him move quickly. She didn't seem to have even noticed him yet. "You'd probably get more enjoyment out of it than anything Mai has offered you."

Noriko came forward with pleading hands, so close to the burning branches. "My daughter- don't hurt her!"

Azula barked a laugh. "Yes, she's the ideal daughter, isn't she? So kind and happy and stupid. She's clumsy and friendly and eager and _good,_ and can't fathom how monstrous her family really is. I can see how you'd prefer her to me."

Aang couldn't believe that his wife was lashing out like this. She'd promised not to hurt anyone to get her answers. "What's going on? Why are you doing this?"

"Aang?" Azula blinked, and craned her neck to look at him over the flames of the burning branches. "I didn't- I wasn't expecting you to be here."

"Well, I am." He took a step forward, reaching for the fire of the burning branches, but Azula's control was too solid. He let his arms drop. "Why are you terrorizing people? And why are we doing it in a creepy crypt?"

Azula straightened, moving a step away from Kiyi. "You're right, this is rather over-dramatic of me. Petty and cruel, as you might call it. But I'm _very_ upset, and I wanted to make sure everyone would listen to me."

"Well, we're listening," Aang said. He looked to the others. "We're all listening. Just let Kiyi go, and we'll listen to whatever you want to say."

Zuko scowled. "She's insane, and we don't-"

Noriko grabbed his arm, silencing him instantly.

Aang looked back to his wife. "Let Kiyi go. This is for your good just as much as hers."

Behind the wall of fire, Azula shook her head. "I can't. Zuko is already a kin-slayer, but he _likes_ Kiyi. _Everyone_ likes Kiyi. She's the perfect daughter." She laughed again.

Aang could barely believe what he was seeing. What had _happened_ to his wife?! She was one of the most controlled people he had ever met, but this was just plain unhinged. "Azula- please, you don't- you don't seem well."

She just laughed again.

Kiyi blinked away tears.

No one reacted.

Aang took another step towards the burning branches. "Azula, there has to be a better way to get your answers."

"Oh, I don't need any more answers." She inhaled, losing her maniacal cheer, and stood up straight and tall the like princess she was so proud to be. "I have them all, now. This is the investigative committee's presentation of the evidence against Fire Lord Zuko and Princess Ursa, for the murder of Fire Lord Ozai."

It started to come together for Aang. "That meeting you had. Your agent found something."

Zuko startled. "Meeting? Agents? What treason-"

At the word, the fires of the burning branches flared, the blue giving way to white heat for a moment.

Azula's glare reflected the fire. "You accuse _me_ of treason?!"

Aang winced. "Zuko, we're kind of in a delicate situation, here." He forced a smile on his face. "So, what did the agent say?"

Azula turned her gaze to Noriko and Noren. "He gave me information about the acting troupe of Hira'a."

Aang saw them both flinch, and then Zuko said, "Don't-"

"I was told about a young actress, Ursa," Azula interrupted as she let the flames in her hand go out, her gaze locked on Noriko, "the daughter of Master Herbalist Rina, who was _so_ looking forward to playing the Dragon Empress in 'Love Amongst the Dragons.' But she disappeared, along with the boy she was to marry." Azula moved to the other side of the table, and ran a finger over Kiyi's bare feet. The girl twitched, but Azula didn't seem to notice. "It was some business that involved the Royal Family, according to rumor, but so very little is truly known. Here in the Capital, however, we know her as Princess Ursa, wife to Fire Lord Ozai."

Aang looked over at Noriko. "You knew their mother?"

Zuko squeezed his eyes shut.

Azula laughed. "Did she! There's even some talk that Ursa, or at least her ghost, returned to Hira'a after a decade. They never connected it to what I discovered, to the stories of a Spirit that would give-"

 _"Shut up!"_ Zuko's cry echoed through the tomb.

Aang winced again. "Zuko didn't mean that. We want to hear what you have to say, and then you'll let Kiyi go. You promised, remember?" She hadn't, but Aang wanted to be optimistic.

Azula leaned over Kiyi to loom over the girl's face. "I promised. Aang is so much nicer than Zuzu, isn't he? But I'm not hurting a sky bison."

It was like a stab to Aang's heart, but he pushed the pain aside. He couldn't let himself get distracted.

Besides, as he focused on his wife again, he realized that Azula didn't mean it. She wasn't even looking at him, wasn't anticipating his pain.

She was leaning over Kiyi, wiping away the girl's tears and hissing, "I'm a monster, too. Hard to believe you're my sister."

Aang wasn't sure he heard that right. "Your sister? So Noriko is related-"

"Enough of this," Zuko snarled, and he punched a fireball at Azula over the burning branches. Even Aang could see it was a sloppy attack, and his wife swiped it away without effort, protecting herself and Kiyi. Then Azula let loose with a screech, and grabbed at golden box in front of Kiyi to fling it at Zuko.

It opened as it bounced off Zuko's chest, covering him in the ashes of his father. He cried out and wiped away at them.

"The Spirit gives people new faces," Azula shrieked. "Zuko found our mother, got her a new face so he could break her banishment, and then brought her new family back to the Capital!" She calmed in an instant, and tapped her chin. "Was poisoning Father always part of the plan, or was that a spur of the moment thing?"

Aang whipped around to look at Noriko. She was cringing, denying nothing.

She was the mother of Zuko and Azula?! All this time-

-and Kiyi-

"I'm sorry," Noriko choked. "When I saw what Ozai did to my boy, I- I hated him so much. I knew how to make a poison that- that-"

"And then you gave some to Mai's husband, too," Azula all but sang, "so that your precious son would have everything he ever wanted."

Noriko covered her face and let out a sob.

It was Noren who interjected with, "The poisonings were Zuko's work! Noriko- your mother- she just made the concoction. Zuko administered it. And poisoning Qin was all Zuko's idea. Mai went along with it, but I don't think she ever approved. Don't hold any of it against Kiyi!"

Zuko dropped down to his knees. "I- I had disappointed Mai enough. I just- I was trying to make her be happy."

Aang couldn't turn his eyes away. These people- he had no real experience with families, outside of what he saw and heard about Katara's, and the way they had built their life together- He had always struck out from a sense of loss. It was gaining Katara and Sokka as family that had brought him back to the light. It was gaining Azula- "So, what's the point of all this?"

Everyone turned to look at him.

He held out his hands to all of them. "Why are we here? The truth is out, now, but the dead are still dead." He turned to Azula. "Did you just want to hurt everyone? Throw their crimes back at them?"

She flinched under his gaze. "Y- yes. They lied and murdered and _pretended they were better than me!_ " The stepped up to the burning branches, so that there was nothing but a wall of flames between Aang and his wife. "It's like I told you: everyone is a monster. Some of us just pretend we're not."

"Fine, we all agree." Aang pointed at Kiyi. "Now stop scaring her. This isn't a real trial. If you want to justice against Zuko, bring it to the Sages or military and stop playing around in graveyards."

Azula laughed, a sharp sound so strained that Aang could only wince. When she finished, she smiled and motioned around her. "Do you really think we're getting out of here alive? That's why I didn't want you to come here." She sighed, and sat down on the floor of the crypt. She seemed almost bored, now. "Oh, Zuzu will pretend to be sorry, and say he'll do the _honorable_ thing, but then he'll offer us tea and they'll find our bodies cold in bed just like Father. We know too much. For the first time in my life, I wish I was stupid."

Noriko burst out with, _"Never!"_

She came over to stand beside Aang, straight and tall, and stared down at Azula. "When the Mother of Faces made me this way, I gave up my memories of my life here. I wanted to forget, and after Zuko found a way to restore that part of me, not a day has gone by when I haven't regretted my choice. But I _never_ wanted you hurt. If Zuko had asked me for poison for you, I never would have given it. I _love_ you, Azula."

"No." Azula rocked back forth on the floor. "No."

Noriko reached towards the flames, but Aang grabbed her hand before she could get burned and said, "Just talk for now." With his Firebending, he could feel the flames wavering at their core, even if they looked as strong as ever.

Noriko nodded, and crouched down across the fire from Azula. "Maybe we can't all live together. Maybe you need more help than any of us can give you. Whether you can acknowledge it or not, your father was terrible to you, and I killed him to protect _all_ my children. I won't condemn you for the damage he did to you. Just come here. Stop scaring your little sister. We can move past this."

As Noriko had talked, Aang watched the fire on the branches die. It grew lower and lower, drawing away from the little light in the tomb. Aang used the shadows to get closer, ready to act, but he was hoping that Azula would surrender. He _needed_ her to give this up and want to make it better.

Azula stared at her mother, biting her lip. Maybe-

"Father- Father said I was p- perfect," she stammered, "I can't- he-"

Whatever she was about to say was lost as Zuko broke out in a run towards Kiyi.

Azula's crouch became a sweeping kick that knocked Aang's feet out from under him, and he just barely managed to cushion his fall to the floor with a burst of air. He saw Azula rolling into Zuko's path, forcing the Fire Lord to stop short, and she backed up towards the table and Kiyi-

Zuko roared and made a flying kick that sent a wave a flame at Azula.

And Kiyi.

Aang pushed off the floor and threw himself into action.

A palm slash sent a burst of wind to scatter Zuko's flame to embers. They were still warming the air as Aang's leap carried him through them. He threw himself into a flip as he flew and his boots connected with the brick ceiling above, just long enough for a slap of his hands to call some of the blocks to push out and knock Zuko straight back to the floor in a crash.

Aang kicked off the ceiling as Azula raced forward, whipping himself around to land in a crouch. He raised his fists as Azula was already throwing her arms forward to launch a fireball, and the bricks of the floor around her feet rose and twisted and merged to lock her in place. She wobbled to a stop, but not before she managed to get off one blue fireball.

Aang stood up, caught it in his hand, and threw to the side where it couldn't hurt anyone.

"Enough," he said.

Aang went over to Kiyi. Zuko started to get up, but Aang flipped his hand over his shoulder and threw a ball of air that knocked Zuko back down. He lifted Kiyi up off the table that had once hosted Ozai's ashes, and soon had her untied.

Kiyi immediately ran towards her mother, but then stopped. She looked at Azula, and then Zuko, and then ran on straight out of the tomb.

Noriko started to follow, but Noren put a hand on her shoulder and said, "I'll go. See to your other children."

Then it was just Aang, his wife, his honor-brother, and his honor-mother.

He looked them all over. "We're done here."

Zuko snorted. "Is that the pronouncement of the Avatar?"

"No, I'm just your sister's husband. Maybe you should stop talking now." He turned to Azula. She was struggling to free her feet, yanking hard enough to nearly unbalance herself. Aang's felt a pain not unlike what came with memories of Appa, but maybe his wife could still be saved. "Come on. You need to-"

"No. No no no no _no no no!_ " Tears were streaming from her eyes. "My mother is dead! She killed herself! She never loved me! Zuko wants me dead! _And I'm a monster!_ "

Aang reached out for her. "Azula-"

And then she inhaled and whipped her left arm down in a low circular motion, bright electricity trailing her fingers through the air and snapping out towards Aang as he approached. He flinched back as she moved her right arm in a similar move, and then she touched the fingers of both arms together-

-Aang looked her in eyes and shook his head-

-she squeezed her eyes shut and thrust her arms down at her feet.

He expected an explosion big enough to kill them all, but instead there was a pop and a flash of light. It was smaller than thunder, not as searing as lightning, and then Aang was peppered with hot pieces of brick as Azula gave a cry that immediately dipped into an echo.

When the smoke cleared, Azula was gone, and there was a hole in the ground leading into complete darkness.

No.

No!

Aang leaped down into the hole, summoning the air to carry him.

* * *

Azula closed her eyes.

Goodbye.

* * *

Aang was sitting in his parlor when the Crimson Guard came for him.

He couldn't bring himself to do more than sigh. "What do you guys want?"

He had spent all night searching for Azula. There were caves and tunnels that ran under the graveyard, old remnants of tombs that were long forgotten. It was a terrible fall that Aang had only survived with a hurricane wind cushioning his landing, but he hadn't been able to find a trace of his wife. No body, no scorch marks, nothing. Perhaps she had somehow escaped, or maybe her body was crumpled up at the bottom of one of the sinkholes that littered the area. His explorations had been long and fruitless.

Eventually, Zuko had joined him.

It was Zuko who felt the dawn come, and suggested going back to let others take over.

Now, one of the Crimson Guard stepped forward from the others. "Prince Aang, you are under arrest, by order of Fire Lord Zuko."

That actually got Aang to snort out a laugh. "What's the crime?"

The lead Guard glanced at the others. "You must come with us."

Not that Aang was free of guilt. He had enabled Azula, provided her information and approved her plans. He hadn't known the depths she would sink to, but he knew she was dangerous, that her instincts made her a threat to others. Why had he thought he could control her? Why hadn't he seen how truly damaged she really was?

Aang turned to take what would probably be the last look out his suite's windows. It was a beautiful day in the Capital, with blue skies and soothing streaks of cloud that drifted across the horizon.

When he got back from searching for Azula, Kiyi had been waiting for him in this very suite. She had hugged him, leaning on him with all her teenage weight, and finally said, "I think I need to go home for a while. No more Palace Maidening."

Aang had nodded. " Hira'a?"

"Yeah." She let go him, and had offered something that might have been a smile. "I wanted to be a herbalist. I think I should start learning, and then use that to help people." She had shuddered. "To make people healthy, I mean."

Aang thought that was a good idea.

He also thought that going with the Crimson Guard would be a bad idea. "Would it help if I promised not to tell anyone what happened last night?"

Two more Guards stepped forward to join the first. "Surrender, or we will take you by force."

Aang nodded. "I understand. You have to do this."

He looked up at the Guards and smiled.

Then he added, "But I don't."

He tumbled forward off the couch and spun his legs in a kick that just missed the table in front of him. The winds that obeyed the call of his feet, however, slammed right into the table, and the table in turn slammed into the assembly of Crimson Guards. As the first few went down in a cacophony of pained cries and clanking armor, the next wave opened up with balls of fire, throwing everything they had at Aang.

He turned and ducked and jumped and pivoted and what he couldn't dodge, he swatted away with his Firebending. As his movements took him back and forth across the increasingly wrecked apartment, he struck at the Guards one by one, hammering each one with a burst of air that sent them flying. It was down to two Guards standing when he heard the sounds of boots out in the hall, and realized that Zuko commanded whole armies.

So he swung his arms out to either side to blow the last two Guards off their feet, and then he took a low bow stance and swung a fist into the air.

Then he waited.

And waited.

A new trio of Crimson Guards stepped into the doorway-

-and the spike of Earth that he summoned from beneath the palace finally crashed up through all the floors below to stab in front of the door and block the way.

Aang heard the Guards immediately going to work on the stone, but it was the work of only a few seconds to grab a sheet from his bed- the same sheet he had used to take Azula flying, the same bed they had shared- and leap out the window.

His wife was no longer in the heart of the Fire Nation.

So there was no reason for his heart to remain here.

He glided up, out of the Caldera, and to freedom.

 **AND THUS THE AVATAR AND THE FIRE PRINCESS DID PART**


	7. Mistake & Partners in Crime

**MAKE-UP BONUS - Mistake & Partners in Crime**

Azula had only gotten as far as a floating fishing village called Jang Hui when her body gave out. The symptoms had started two islands ago, but this time she had collapsed in the middle of a public square of sorts. She could only presume that it had caused a stir, a ragged young woman fainting, even if she wore her hair loose and with no crown in it.

She had woken up in a healer's hut, and was very proud of herself for not immediately attacking the man leaning over her, especially when it turned out that he didn't recognize her at all.

Now, hours later, a woman walked into the hut. "Are you Zua?"

Azula always preferred manipulating people with the truth when possible, but little lies had their uses. "I am. And you are?"

"Hello!" The woman bowed. "I am Cheung, Healer Lee's wife. He asked me to talk to you, woman to woman."

"Oh." Azula immediately expected a trap. She had already identified all the hut's exits, and tensed as she mapped out several escape routes that would allow her to dodge any attacks Cheung might make. "About what?"

Cheung sat down beside Azula's pallet. "You told Lee that you'd been traveling."

Running, but same difference. "Yes." Azula wondered if Cheung was a Firebender.

Cheung frowned. "You weren't- did any man _bother_ you on the road?"

Azula had to laugh. "Two bandits tried to rob me, but I knocked them out." Azula had also taken their clothes, using the rags to make the disguise she currently wore, but she wasn't about to offer such a clue to her identity. "My travels have been quite pleasant." For a fugitive.

Cheung relaxed. "Oh, good. Then, back home- do you have a man?"

Azula tensed. "What?"

"A boyfriend? Or husband?"

Aang locked her feet with the bricks. She failed him and he turned against her. He probably hated her now. He was likely back with Zuko trying to hunt her down-

"Ah, I see that it's complicated." Cheung took Azula's hands in her own.

Azula didn't like that, and had even less tolerance for having revealed her thoughts about Aang. But she knew how to stay hidden. "Yes. Complicated."

"Well, I hope this comes as good news." Cheung smiled and leaned forward. "Joyous news, you might say."

Azula frowned. "I don't follow."

"You're with child, dear. You're going to be a mother."

The words made no sense. "What?"

Cheung squeezed Azula's hands. "You're having a baby."

A baby.

 _A baby._

The first thing that occurred to Azula was that she had beaten Zuzu to having an heir. Her second thought was that _she had produced an heir to the Burning Throne._ She officially offered a more stable line of succession. That was enough for some of the people in the Capital to rally to her, and perhaps even support an assassination attempt against Zuko.

Azula shuddered. It was a good thing she had left. Whatever that lying witch 'Noriko' claimed, Azula had no doubt that Zuko would steal her child and have her killed 'in childbirth.' And if she couldn't control herself enough to handle the revelations about Father's death, she couldn't protect herself. And she knew she had lost control back there. She couldn't even sustain her fire when Mother- Ursa- Noriko-

She couldn't. Not without help.

* * *

The trail of spiritual light led Aang to a fishing village out in the middle of a river. It was just a collection of connected docks, so haphazard in shape that it probably had grown into a village by accident.

Connections tended to work that way, too, Aang had found.

It had taken him a while to find the calmness to meditate once again. It was only on a remote beach on Ember Island that he had finally been able to close his eyes and truly look into himself. There, he found Guru Pathik's voice- or perhaps they were Aang's thoughts speaking with the guru's voice. Either way, they helped him speak the questions his life had become.

He would have to make his life into answers, now, different answers than he had expected before now.

But he already had one answer.

He was still married.

Guru Pathik had said that separation is an illusion, and everything shares a connection. Some connections are more vivid than others, but nothing is alone.

And so Aang returned to the spiritual half of this plane of existence and found that connection to Azula, that ribbon of light that stretched across the Fire Nation. He found it again and again, day after day, and followed it.

Followed it here, to this fishing village. To this hut.

To the woman sitting on a pallet on the floor, her hands held by an older lady.

"Hi," he said, leaning in the doorway. They both looked at him, and Azula's eyes went wide. Despite his longer hair, despite the wrap that covered his arrow, she knew him. He smiled at her. "I'm looking for my wife."

The older woman brightened. "Ah! You two have some talking to do, then. I'll just leave you alone for a moment." She got up and hurried past Aang, giving him a look before she trotted away. "Be supportive."

And then he and Azula were alone.

He went over and sat beside her pallet. "Found you."

She winced. "How soon will Zuko be here?"

"Zuko?" What was she talking about? What did- Oh. "He's not here. He tried to arrest me, so I ran."

She nodded, looking down at her boots. "He's an idiot. He's not going to arrest or kill Kiyi, and she's just as much of a danger. It would have been better to make a deal with you."

Aang shrugged. "I wasn't really in the mood for a deal, anyway." She gave no acknowledgement, so he continued, "About you-"

"I'm pregnant," she blurted out.

She-

Wait-

"I'm not saying that to manipulate you," she added. She was keeping her eyes on her boots. (Where had she gotten old army boots?) She inhaled deeply, and then let it out again. "That's a transparent lie, and I'm ashamed of trying to make it work. I _am_ trying to manipulate you. I need your help. I can't do this alone. Baby or no baby. I need you. I know I failed, that I'll always be a failure, and I don't blame you for hating me, but I can offer-"

Aang shut her up with a kiss.

She pulled away. But at least she was finally looking at him. "Stop that! You can't just forgive me! I terrorized your friend and almost got you killed! _Father_ wouldn't forgive this!"

She didn't get it, Aang could see. She might never get it. But in teaching her, he hoped he might come to truly learn it. He hadn't yet forgiven himself for the lives he asked to be taken, but he had learned to accept himself. "The guru told me that failures are part of life. We have to look at our failures, and see them as examples of what not to do in the future."

She stared at him.

Aang shrugged. "I don't know if I forgive you, yet, but I want to." He held out a hand. "So, it looks like there are three of us on the run, now. How about we have some dinner- I brought food; I don't think you should eat any of the weird fish they have here- and come up with a good plan to make the best of this?"

She stared at him.

And then Azula, his wife, took his hand.

It was warm.

 **END**

 **FOR NOW**


End file.
